Former Site of the General Labor Union on Yanwu Lane

Former Site of the General Labor Union on Yanwu Lane

The Former Site of the General Labor Union on Yanwu Lane is a cultural relic protection unit of Zhejiang Province.

The Former Site of the General Labor Union on Yanwu Lane is located at No. 2 Yanwu Street, Yinzhou District, Ningbo City, commonly referred to as the Former Site of the General Labor Union. Historical records indicate that Ningbo was an important industrial city in Zhejiang Province. By 1921, it had 39 modern enterprises and over 5,000 workers. Driven by the May Thirtieth Movement of 1925 and the Canton–Hong Kong strike, workers in Ningbo began organizing trade unions. In July 1926, the Ningbo General Labor Union was established, initially headquartered at No. 30 Qianyuan Lane, Jiangbei (on the left side). After being burned down by the Kuomintang in March 1927, it moved to No. 65 Manao Road. Due to the limited space there, it soon relocated to its current address. The main building’s first floor served as the grand hall of the General Labor Union, the third floor as offices, and the wing rooms were used by various trade unions such as Hefeng Textile Mill, Shunji Iron Works, Meiqiu Hosiery Factory, Post and Telecommunications, Rice Industry, Railway, and Seamen. On April 12, 1927, when the Kuomintang launched a political coup and carried out a “party purge” in Ningbo, Yang Meishan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Ningbo Municipal Committee of the CPC, and Wang Kun, chairman of the General Labor Union, were arrested, and the union was shut down, forcing the labor movement underground. To protect this cultural heritage and educate future generations, the Ningbo Municipal Government established the “Ningbo Workers' Movement Memorial Hall,” with the name inscribed by the renowned calligrapher Sha Menghai. The hall houses an exhibition room that displays in detail the struggles of the Ningbo working class across various historical periods. The site is a traditional three-sided wooden residential compound facing south, surrounded by high firewalls, featuring a stone gate and a small courtyard at the back. This former site preserves the glorious traditions and indomitable fighting spirit of Ningbo’s working class, serving as a red education base in the city. It was designated as part of the second batch of provincial-level cultural relic protection units by the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province in March 1963. The site is open to the public free of charge year-round.

Source: Yinzhou District Cultural Relics Management Office

Further Reading:

· Second Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Zhejiang Province