Former Site of the Awakening Society

Former Site of the Awakening Society

The Former Site of the Awakening Society is a national AAA-level tourist attraction and a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level.

The Tianjin Awakening Society Memorial Hall is a red-themed memorial built on a revolutionary site, distinguished by its prominent features and clear theme.

The Awakening Society was a progressive youth group formed during the height of the May Fourth Movement. Its twenty members, equally divided between men and women, included prominent figures in Tianjin at the time such as Zhou Enlai, Ma Jun, Liu Qingyang, Deng Yingchao, and Guo Longzhen. The members broke through feudal constraints, united to fight together, studied new ideologies here, explored the truth of saving the nation and its people, actively participated in practical struggles, and became the leading core of Tianjin’s anti-imperialist movement, enjoying high prestige among revolutionary groups in northern China.

In 2012, following the principle of “restoring the old as it was,” the memorial hall carried out renovations on the main structure of the historic site and upgraded its exhibition displays, further highlighting the unique characteristics of a commemorative museum. The renovated memorial hall has an overall layout of three courtyards with three entrances, featuring grey-tiled walls and brick-and-wood structures. The current exhibition is divided into two parts: restored displays and supplementary exhibits.

I. Restored Displays

The restored displays make full use of the unique advantages of the Awakening Society’s former site. Based on the recollections of original members and associates such as Deng Yingchao, Guan Yiwen, and Li Yuru, along with relevant historical documentation, the east and west wing rooms have been restored. The west wing room, consisting of both inner and outer sections, is furnished with furniture from the Republican era, such as rattan chairs, desks, brass beds, and the Four Treasures of the Study—items representing daily life in that period—to recreate the living environment of a well-off family in the 1920s, providing visitors with an authentic historical backdrop. The east wing room is a spacious open space, the original site where Awakening Society members gathered. The exterior wall bears a plaque marking the “Former Site of the Awakening Society.” Inside, items such as bookshelves, hat racks, and newspaper racks are displayed, with two eight-immortal tables placed side by side in the center of the room, featuring an iron lottery plate and paper slips used by members for drawing lots—recreating the scene of the Society’s activities.

II. Supplementary Exhibits

The supplementary exhibits utilize three connected main rooms converted into a single exhibition space, forming a continuous display route. The exhibition is arranged chronologically and divided into three relatively independent sections, each forming its own cohesive system. The first section serves as background introduction, titled “Laying the Foundation—Enduring the Tempest of the May Fourth Movement”; the second section is the core content, titled “The Birth of Awakening—Seeking the Path to Social Reform”; and the third section is titled “Trials of Time—Choosing Different Life Paths.”

Since reopening with the new exhibition layout, the memorial hall has received over 100,000 visitors from all walks of life, earning praise from experts, scholars, and the general public, and has become one of the city’s important bases for patriotic education.

On October 7, 2019, the Former Site of the Awakening Society was included in the eighth batch of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level.

Address: No. 49, San Jie Li, San Ma Lu, Hebei District

Phone: 26355181

Further Reading:

· Eighth Batch of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level