Former Site Memorial Hall of the New Fourth Army Headquarters in Yunling

Former Site Memorial Hall of the New Fourth Army Headquarters in Yunling

The Former Site Memorial Hall of the New Fourth Army Headquarters in Yunling is a National AAAA-level Tourist Attraction, a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit, a Classic Red Tourism Destination, and a Patriotic Education Base.

The former site of the New Fourth Army Headquarters is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit, located in the Yunling area, 25 kilometers west of Jing County. Yunling is an extension of Huangshan Mountain, with an altitude of over 500 meters. Between Yunling and Sigu Mountain lies a mountain valley stretching 15 kilometers from east to west, where over 30 natural villages are distributed, including Luoli, Tang, Gaoling, Xincun, Nanbao, Zhangjiadu, and Zhongcun. On July 1, 1938, after the New Fourth Army Headquarters moved into the Yunling area, its command post and subordinate agencies were stationed in numerous villages centered around Luoli. The New Fourth Army Headquarters remained in Yunling for three years until its withdrawal on January 4, 1941.

In December 1937, according to an agreement between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, our Party established the New Fourth Army Headquarters in Hankou, Hubei. In January 1938, the New Fourth Army was officially formed in Nanchang, Jiangxi, with Ye Ting, a renowned general of the Northern Expedition, appointed as commander, Xiang Ying as deputy commander, Zhang Yunyi and Zhou Zikun as chief and deputy chiefs of staff, and Yuan Guoping and Deng Zihui as head and deputy head of the Political Department. In February of the same year, the Headquarters moved to Yansi, She County, southern Anhui, completing the task of concentrating and reorganizing the entire army. In May, it relocated to Tutan Village in Nanling, and in July, it moved to Yunling. Until the eve of the Southern Anhui Incident, the Headquarters—including the Command, Political Department, Training Corps, Field Service Group, and related logistics units—was distributed across 13 natural villages in the Yunling area, including Luoli, Nanbao, and Zhongcun, occupying a total of over 130 buildings, all originally residential houses. Currently, the Former Site Memorial Hall of the New Fourth Army Headquarters manages seven of these sites. The former site is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit and one of China’s eight most significant modern historical landmarks. Comrade Chen Yi personally inscribed the name of the memorial hall in 1963. We will join the program “Travel the World” on a red tourism journey to the patriotic education base—the New Fourth Army Headquarters in Yunling and the Memorial Cemetery for Martyrs of the Southern Anhui Incident—to follow in the footsteps of revolutionary martyrs, commemorate their heroic deeds, and pay tribute to their legacy.

The memorial hall currently preserves ten historical sites: the Army Headquarters Command, the Army Headquarters Auditorium, the Arms Repair Workshop, the Political Department, the Training Corps, the Field Service Group, the Central Southeast Bureau, the Martyrs’ Cemetery, Ye Ting Bridge, and others. It has also added facilities such as the “Yunling Stele Garden,” the Ye Ting Bronze Statue Plaza, and supplementary thematic exhibitions. The museum houses over 4,000 precious photographs, cultural relics, and documents. Through restored displays and supplementary exhibits, it recreates the great achievements of the older generation of proletarian revolutionaries of the New Fourth Army, as well as the tragic chapter of the shocking “Southern Anhui Incident.”

Since the 1970s, Chinese party and state leaders such as Deng Xiaoping have inspected Jing County and visited the Former Site Memorial Hall of the New Fourth Army Headquarters. On May 21, 2001, General Secretary Jiang Zemin personally visited Jing County, inspected the Xuancheng Paper Factory and the Former Site Memorial Hall of the New Fourth Army Headquarters in Yunling, and inscribed encouraging words, urging the people of Jing County to carry forward the fearless fighting spirit of the revolutionary martyrs and “further strive to develop the old revolutionary base areas.”

Jing County is a land steeped in revolutionary history. From 1938 to 1941, the Central Southeast Bureau of the Party and the New Fourth Army Headquarters were stationed in Yunling, Jing County. Veteran proletarian revolutionaries such as Liu Shaoqi, Chen Yi, Ye Ting, Xiang Ying, and Zeng Shan commanded the Iron Army here, fighting across the region for the nation’s liberation. Maolin in Jing County was the site of the shocking “Southern Anhui Incident,” where over 7,000 New Fourth Army soldiers laid down their lives for the liberation of the nation at the foot of Dongliu Mountain.

The former site of the New Fourth Army Headquarters is located in Yunling, 25 kilometers west of Jing County. From July 1938 to January 1941, the New Fourth Army Headquarters relocated here from Yansi, She County. Its various agencies were distributed across 13 natural villages in the 15-kilometer-long mountain valley between Yunling and Sigu Mountain. The Army Command was stationed in Luoli Village, housed in two landlord estates known as “Zhongmoyuan” and “Dafudi,” comprising 71 residential buildings, one multi-story house, and a small garden. Ye Ting, Xiang Ying, and Zhou Zikun all lived here. Vice Chairman Deng Xiaoping also stayed in “Zhongmoyuan” during his inspection visit to Yunling.

The Army Headquarters Auditorium was located in the Chen Family Ancestral Hall, one kilometer west of Luoli Village, covering a construction area of 2,900 square meters. The wooden-stage front hall served as a venue for large meetings and performances. Vice Chairman Deng Xiaoping delivered his important report “The Current Situation and the Tasks of the New Fourth Army” here. It now serves as the Revolutionary Cultural Relics Exhibition Room of the New Fourth Army Headquarters Memorial Hall.

The Army Headquarters Arms Repair Workshop was located in the Guan Di Temple, one kilometer west of Luoli Village. The temple features elegant architecture and spacious rooms, with an exquisitely carved flower opera tower in front of the main hall and numerous anti-Japanese slogans preserved on its walls.

The Central Southeast Bureau of the Party was located in Dingjiashan Village at the foot of Yunling Mountain. The site is a three-room, two-wing residence that remains well-preserved today.

About 100–200 meters from Luoli Village, over the Yezi River, stands a small bridge—Ye Ting Bridge. Originally a makeshift wooden bridge built by villagers using a few small tree trunks, it was highly unsafe for pedestrians. After the New Fourth Army Headquarters moved in, Commander Ye Ting personally oversaw the design and construction of a new flat bridge. Deeply moved by the commander’s concern for the people, the villagers renamed the bridge “Ye Ting Bridge.”

The former site of the New Fourth Army Headquarters in Yunling has been designated as a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Further Reading:

· China’s National Second-Class Museum

· First Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units