Former Site of the Zhejiang East Regional Committee of the Communist Party of China

Former Site of the Zhejiang East Regional Committee of the Communist Party of China

Former Site of the Zhejiang East Regional Committee of the Communist Party of China —— In April 1941, after the fall of Yuyao, approximately 900 members of the Fifth Detachment of the Songhu Guerrilla Forces of the Third War Zone, led by the Shanghai branch of the Chinese Communist Party, crossed Hangzhou Bay in seven batches and entered the “Three Norths” (the northern parts of Yuyao, Cixi, and Zhenhai counties). In July 1942, the Zhejiang East Regional Committee of the Chinese Communist Party was established, with Tan Qilong as secretary and He Kexi, Yang Siyi, and Gu Dehuan as committee members. In August, the Three Norths Guerrilla Command was set up, later renamed as the New Fourth Army’s Zhejiang East Guerrilla Column, with He Kexi serving as commander and Tan Qilong as political commissar, unifying and reorganizing the anti-Japanese forces in Zhejiang East. In April 1943, Liangnong was captured. In August, the Regional Committee and the Command moved into Hengkantou Village and Liangnong Town, establishing an anti-Japanese base in Zhejiang East with Liangnong in the heart of Siming Mountain as the command center.

From May 1941 to the end of September 1945, the Zhejiang East Regional Committee led the military and civilians of the region in 643 battles of various sizes, recaptured the county seats of Nanhui and Shangyu, captured over 110 strongholds of varying sizes, liberated 4 million compatriots, and killed, wounded, or captured more than 9,000 Japanese puppet troops, achieving brilliant results and adding a glorious chapter to the history of the Chinese people’s War of Resistance Against Japan.

The Former Site of the Zhejiang East Regional Committee of the Communist Party of China is located in Hengkantou Village, nestled between green mountains and clear waters, and is a Qing Dynasty-era wooden residential building. The southern wing room extends eastward to the main building, which has seven rooms, while the northern wing room lies to the west of the main building. All three structures — the main building and the two wing rooms — are interconnected by covered corridors. The main building is a double-eaved, flush-gable roof house with a post-and-lintel beam structure. It has a total width of 28.35 meters, using ten purlins, seven columns, and a depth of 11.60 meters. The central bay is 4.45 meters wide, the side bays are 4 meters wide, and the end bays are 3.95 meters wide. Both the north and south wing rooms are 7.40 meters wide in total, each divided into two rooms, each 3.70 meters wide, with a uniform depth of 6.95 meters, also featuring a post-and-lintel structure using nine purlins and six columns. In front of the main building is a courtyard paved with irregularly laid stone slabs. A tall surrounding wall stands in front of the courtyard. In 1992, it was officially named the Zhejiang East Revolutionary Base Memorial Hall, with the name inscribed by Wang Fang, former Minister of Public Security. The main gate also features a stone tablet inscribed with the words “Former Site of the Zhejiang East Regional Committee of the Chinese Communist Party” by General Zhang Aiping, former Minister of National Defense. Liangnong Town and Hengkantou Village are also recognized as provincial-level historical and cultural towns and villages. Nearby the former site, there remain sites such as the office of the Xin Zhe Dong Bao newspaper, Zhejiang East Bank, the Instruction Brigade of the New Fourth Army’s Zhejiang East Column, the Zhejiang East Administrative Office, and the Anti-Japanese Military and Political Cadre School. About one kilometer away from Hengkantou Village, in Xuanjiata Village, there is the former site of the Zhejiang Branch of the Lu Xun Academy.

Information provided by: Yuyao Cultural Relics Protection Office, Cixi Cultural Relics Management Office