Heping Arsenal Workshop

Heping Arsenal Workshop

The "Heping Arsenal Workshop," located in Liulong Group, Heping Village, Shuikou Town, is a white-walled, gray-tiled residential house owned by Wang Jinjie. According to Mr. Wang: In May 1947, local armed forces of the Chinese Communist Party established an arsenal workshop to support the Liu-Deng Army’s operations in the Dabie Mountains. The team was composed of Liu Juyi, chairman of the Peasant Association; political commissar Jia ××; mechanic Liao ×× (from Shandong); village head Wang Yuchi (from Yuexi County); forage handler Wang Yushan; Chen Yuesheng; and two other blacksmith technicians. The unit relocated here from Yaqian, Yuexi County, and borrowed one back room and one west wing room from Wang’s house to manufacture over 300 "Hubei Strip" rifles. In November 1947, due to the betrayal of Wang Yuchi, a battalion of the Nationalist 25th Division launched an attack on the workshop. Liu Juyi and others were forced to withdraw from Wang’s residence. During the retreat, the workshop members sank about 100 unfinished firearms into a mountain pond approximately 20 meters to the right of the house.

The Heping Arsenal Workshop made an extremely significant contribution to our victory in the War of Liberation.

The Wang residence faces south, features a double-sloped gable-and-hip roof, and is divided into front and rear sections with a central courtyard. The rear hall is 5 meters wide, 3.3 meters deep, and 4.5 meters high, with the west wing room covering a total area of about 30 square meters. Inside the west wing, one tea cabinet and one bucket used at the time are still preserved today, but furniture such as beds, tables, and chairs have been lost or destroyed. About 100 meters in front of the house, there used to be a lotus-shaped earthen mound that served as the firing range for testing weapons—however, it has since disappeared due to land reclamation activities.