Former Site of the Consumer Cooperative of the Soviet Area in Cheben Township

Former Site of the Consumer Cooperative of the Soviet Area in Cheben Township

The former site of the Consumer Cooperative of the Soviet Area in Cheben Township is a cultural tourism attraction and a classic red tourism destination.

The former site of the Consumer Cooperative of the Soviet Area in Cheben Township is located in Cheben Village, Shiliu Town, Zhangpu County.

Cheben Village is situated at the junction of Jing, He, and Pu counties. It is a mountain village with only about 20 households and is one of the earliest revolutionary base villages established in Zhangpu County. In 1932, after the Central Red Army captured Zhangzhou, the Jing-He-Pu revolutionary base centered around Cheben, Longling, and Xiaoshancheng began to take shape and was subsequently consolidated and developed. In 1934, Cheben Village officially became the site of the Min-Yue Border Special Committee and the Jing-He-Pu Central County Committee. Rear agencies such as the detention center, military hospital, military operations office, arms repair factory, and supply station were all located in the mountains around Cheben, making the village the command center of the revolutionary struggle in southern Fujian. At that time, the Jing-He-Pu Soviet Area evolved from the central region of the southern Fujian revolutionary base into the leading hub of revolutionary struggles in the Min-Yue border region. The Nationalist army continuously deployed a division or more troops to carry out prolonged military “encirclement and suppression” campaigns and economic blockades against the Jing-He-Pu Soviet Area, causing tremendous difficulties in both military supplies and civilian needs. To break the enemy's military and economic blockades, under the leadership of the Min-Yue Border Special Committee, the Jing-He-Pu Soviet Area on one hand concentrated Red Army guerrilla forces to eliminate reactionary armed elements and open up new revolutionary bases, and on the other hand, followed the model of the Central Soviet Area by establishing consumer cooperatives in the various township Soviets. These cooperatives adopted a shareholding system where both the township Soviets and local residents invested, obtaining essential supplies through various channels. The Consumer Cooperative of the Cheben Township Soviet was established during this period and operated until the summer of 1935, making significant contributions to the Jing-He-Pu Soviet Area’s efforts to resist enemy encirclement and economic blockade.

The former site of the Consumer Cooperative of the Soviet Area in Cheben Township was originally a residential house, connected with others to form a long-corridor-style structure. In August 2009, it was designated by the All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives as a Revolutionary Traditional Education Base of the All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives.

-----Source: Zhangpu County Party History Research Office

Cheben Village: I. Overview of Cheben Village

Cheben Village is located in the northeastern mountainous area of Shiliu Town, 30 kilometers from the town center. It is the most remote and highest-altitude (780 meters) administrative village in the northwestern part of Zhangpu County. It administers one natural village and two villager groups, with a population of 100 households and 432 people, including 23 official party members, one of whom is female. The total land area of the village exceeds 20,000 mu, with actual cultivated land covering approximately 400 mu. This area was formerly known as the Jing-He-Pu border region. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the areas originally belonging to Nanjing’s Zhongxi and Nanpu, north of Shancheng, were placed under the jurisdiction of Zhangpu. To the north of Cheben... Detailed information about Cheben Village++