Former Site of the Establishment of the CPC Zhejiang East District Committee

Former Site of the Establishment of the CPC Zhejiang East District Committee

The Former Site of the Establishment of the CPC Zhejiang East District Committee is a classic red tourism attraction.

The Former Site of the Establishment of the CPC Zhejiang East District Committee is located in Changming Village, Guanhaiwei Town. It was originally the first and second sections of the residence of Mi Zhangxiao, a merchant who traded in tobacco (and cosmetics) in Hangzhou during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty. Since Mi’s business in Hangzhou was named “Mi Dachang,” locals referred to this compound as “Mi Dachang.”

The site comprises the main gate, the main building, and wing rooms, covering a total area of 2,530 square meters, with a built-up area of 1,670 square meters. The main gate has five bays and faces west. The main building, slightly west of due south, faces north and consists of an entrance gate, a central hall, and side rooms, spanning 35.65 meters in width and 29.3 meters in depth. The wing rooms are located to the west of the main building, face east, and are arranged in a trapezoidal layout.

After the Wanbei Incident in 1941, the situation of the national anti-Japanese war underwent drastic changes. The Party Central Committee and Chairman Mao assessed the situation and made the strategic decision to establish new strategic bases in areas where our Party’s influence was relatively weak. In accordance with the directives of the Party Central Committee and Chairman Mao, the CPC Central China Bureau dispatched Tan Qilong to Sanbei (Northern Zhejiang) in 1942 to oversee work in Zhejiang East and subsequently assigned additional leaders including He Kexi and Gu Dehuan to reinforce the leadership there. On July 18, 1942, the First Expanded Cadre Meeting of the Zhejiang East Anti-Japanese Base Area was held at “Mi Dachang” in Mijia Dai; on July 28, the CPC Zhejiang East District Committee, with Tan Qilong as secretary and He Kexi, Yang Enyi, and Gu Dehuan as committee members, was officially established at “Mi Dachang.” From then on, the anti-Japanese forces in the Siming Mountains, Kuaiji Mountains, Sanbei, and Pudong regions had a unified command center.

In August 1943, the CPC Zhejiang East District Committee and the Sanbei Guerrilla Headquarters moved into Hengkantou Village and Liangnong Town in Yuyao, gradually forming the Zhejiang East Anti-Japanese Base Area with the Siming Mountains as its foundation and Liangnong as its military command center. Within the short span of three years—from the establishment of the CPC Zhejiang East District Committee to the victorious conclusion of the Anti-Japanese War and the subsequent relocation northward upon orders—the Zhejiang East District Party Committee, relying closely on the broad party members and people of the region, achieved major victories in the struggles against “mop-up campaigns, anti-sweeping operations, and encroachment.” In November 1944, they were commended in a message from the Party Central Committee and Chairman Mao. By the time of the relocation, the Zhejiang East Anti-Japanese Base Area had four regional-level governments, 16 county-level governments, a population of 4 million, over 10,000 armed troops, and became one of the eight major strategic areas in Central China and one of the nineteen anti-Japanese base areas nationwide.

In 1995 and 2000, it was respectively designated as a Patriotic Education Base by the People’s Government of Cixi City and the People’s Government of Ningbo City.

The Former Site of the Establishment of the CPC Zhejiang East District Committee is now open to the public and features thematic exhibitions such as “Turbulent Times in Sanbei” and “The Revolutionary Armed Forces of the Zhejiang East Revolutionary Base — the Sanbei Guerrilla Headquarters.” It serves as an important site for Cixi City to provide revolutionary tradition education and patriotic education to the general public.