Former Site of the East Zhejiang Bank

Former Site of the East Zhejiang Bank

The Former Site of the East Zhejiang Bank is just ten meters away from the Former Site of the CPC East Zhejiang District Committee. The East Zhejiang Bank issued anti-Japanese currency (抗币) as the standard currency for the East Zhejiang Administrative Region. The currency was denominated in yuan and came in three denominations: one yuan, five yuan, and ten yuan (the “Anti-Currency Regulations” also mentioned a fifty-yuan note, but it was never actually issued). Printed on Shanghai-made Davar paper, the total issuance amounted to two million yuan. The establishment of the bank and the issuance of anti-Japanese currency strengthened the economic combat effectiveness of the East Zhejiang base area against the enemy. First, it curbed the circulation of puppet currency, opened up a new financial front, and nurtured a team of financial personnel. Second, it stabilized the financial market, controlled inflation, earned public support, and enhanced the Party’s prestige among the people. Third, it ensured the funding needs of the military and administrative personnel. At the same time, it played a significant role in stabilizing the economy and promoting production. In late September 1945, the New Fourth Army’s East Zhejiang Column was ordered to withdraw northward, and the East Zhejiang Bank completed its historical mission, recalling and exchanging the anti-Japanese currency. To this day, a large red star—measuring two square meters—painted on the wall by the staff of the wartime administration remains preserved at the entrance of the former bank. In late September 1945, after the New Fourth Army’s East Zhejiang Column and the East Zhejiang Administration were ordered to withdraw north, the Nationalist army deployed tens of thousands of troops to “mop up” the Siming Mountains. The local people, regarding the red star as a symbol of the New Fourth Army, covered it with soil to protect it, ensuring the preservation of this precious revolutionary relic.