Former Sites of the Anti-Japanese Base in the Four Mountains of Eastern Zhejiang

Former Sites of the Anti-Japanese Base in the Four Mountains of Eastern Zhejiang

The Former Sites of the Anti-Japanese Base in the Four Mountains of Eastern Zhejiang is a national AAA-level tourist attraction, a red tourism classic scenic area, and a patriotic education base.

The revolutionary base in the Four Mountains (Siming Mountains) centered around Liangnong, Yuyao, was one of the nineteen anti-Japanese bases nationwide during the War of Resistance against Japan, and one of the seven major guerrilla zones in southern China during the civil war period. It has been listed among the hundred “National Red Tourism Classic Scenic Areas” prioritized for development by the Party and the state, and was named the “Zhejiang Provincial Million Youths Red-Tourism Classic Scenic Area” by the Communist Youth League Zhejiang Provincial Committee and the Zhejiang Provincial Tourism Bureau.

In April 1945, Mao Zedong pointed out in his political report “On Coalition Government” at the Seventh National Congress of the Communist Party of China that the nineteen major liberated areas led by the Communist Party of China covered most or parts of provinces including Liaoning, Rehe, Chahar, Suiyuan, Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Shanxi, Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, and Fujian. The Zhejiang mentioned here refers to the anti-Japanese base in enemy-occupied eastern Zhejiang.

The anti-Japanese base in enemy-occupied eastern Zhejiang was one of the eight strategic regions in central China and served as the southeastern frontier of the resistance in central China. It included four areas: Siming, Kuaiji, Sanbei (the region north of Yuyao, Cixi, and Zhenhai counties), and Pudong. Located on both sides of Hangzhou Bay and between Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Ningbo, it borders the East China Sea to the east, extends south to the highway from Dongyang to Ningbo, crosses the east and west sides of the Jinhua-Xiaoshan line of the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Railway to the west, and reaches the areas on both sides of the Huangpu River to the north. It had a population of four million and over ten thousand anti-Japanese troops.

After the “Southern Anhui Incident,” the Party Central Committee and Chairman Mao made new arrangements for the New Fourth Army’s strategic deployment in central China, explicitly stating that the strength in eastern Zhejiang had always been weak and that the general headquarters should establish this strategic base. To implement this directive, the Central China Bureau assigned the task of opening up work in eastern and western Zhejiang to Tan Zhenlin, Secretary of the Suzhong District Party Committee. From May to September 1941, the New Fourth Army Headquarters and the Central China Bureau dispatched armed forces in seven batches, totaling more than 900 officers and soldiers, who crossed the Hangzhou Bay from Pudong to the Sanbei region of eastern Zhejiang. Together with the anti-Japanese self-defense armed forces in eastern Zhejiang, they engaged in the struggle against the Japanese. The Central China Bureau and the New Fourth Army Headquarters subsequently sent a large number of cadres and armed forces, including Tan Qilong, He Kexi, Gu Dehuan, Zhang Wenbi, Liu Hengyun, and Lian Baisheng, to eastern Zhejiang to lead the anti-Japanese resistance there. In July 1942, the Central China Bureau of the Communist Party of China decided to establish the Eastern Zhejiang District Party Committee, with Tan Qilong as secretary and He Kexi, Gu Dehuan, Yang Siyi, and Liu Hengyun as members, to command the armed forces behind enemy lines in Zhejiang.

In April 1943, Liangnong was liberated. The Eastern Zhejiang District Committee of the Communist Party of China, the headquarters of the New Fourth Army’s Eastern Zhejiang Column, and other party, government, and military organs moved into Hengkantou Village in Hengkantou, Liangnong. Under the leadership of the Eastern Zhejiang District Committee, with the Siming Mountains as the base and Liangnong as the command center, they fought in 643 battles of various sizes, captured two county towns, took over more than 110 enemy and puppet strongholds, killed or injured 610 Japanese soldiers, captured 21 Japanese soldiers, killed or injured 3,062 Wang puppet troops, captured 5,540 puppet troops, and liberated 4 million compatriots. The anti-Japanese armed forces grew from an initial 900 troops to over 15,000, forming the New Fourth Army’s Eastern Zhejiang Column. Meanwhile, four special districts and 16 county-level governments were established.

During the civil war period, the Siming Mountains were one of the seven major guerrilla zones in southern China. After the victory in the War of Resistance, to achieve nationwide peace, the New Fourth Army’s Eastern Zhejiang Column was ordered to withdraw northward at the end of September 1945, leaving only a very small number of key personnel to continue the struggle in eastern Zhejiang. Under the instructions of the Central China Bureau, the Eastern Zhejiang Working Committee and the Siming Mountains Working Committee led the revolutionary armed forces and local people in the Siming Mountains region in over 100 battles of various sizes and arduous struggles against “mopping-up” campaigns, recovered the base area, and established the Second Column of the People’s Liberation Army in Eastern Zhejiang. This column consisted of six detachments: Jin-Xiao, Kuaiji, Taishu, Siming, Lunan, and the main force of Eastern Zhejiang, which unified the command of the liberation war in eastern Zhejiang. By holding their ground in Chiang Kai-shek’s stronghold, they became a sharp thorn in his side, pinning down some of the Nationalist army forces and contributing to the victory of the nationwide liberation war.

Featured Routes:

Two-Day Tour

Route 1:

Day 1: Lu Xun’s Former Residence in Shaoxing — Zhou Enlai Memorial Hall, overnight in Yuyao

Day 2: Monument to Revolutionary Martyrs in the Siming Mountains, Yuyao — Red Ancient Town Liangnong — Red Ancient Village Hengkantou (Anti-Japanese Base in Eastern Zhejiang)

Hengkantou Village: Located in the southwestern part of Yuyao City, at the southern end of Liangnong Town, adjacent to Provincial Highway Huxi Line, Hengkantou Village is 2 km from Liangnong Town, 25 km from downtown Yuyao, and 48 km from downtown Ningbo. The village houses the former sites of the Eastern Zhejiang District Party Committee, the Eastern Zhejiang Administrative Office, the Eastern Zhejiang Anti-Japanese Military and Political Cadre School, the Eastern Zhejiang Bank, and the Eastern Zhejiang Newspaper Agency, and is known as the “Red Village of Eastern Zhejiang.” The village covers an area of 6.6 square kilometers, comprises 6 natural villages, has a population of 2,509, includes 871 farming households, and has 1,003 mu of arable land and 5,985 mu of forest land. The village’s three-tier leadership team consists of nine members. As of September 2007, ... More detailed information about Hengkantou Village ++