Shanghang Linjiang Tower

Shanghang Linjiang Tower

Shanghang Linjiang Tower is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit, a classic red tourism attraction, and a patriotic education base.

Linjiang Tower was once the former residence of Mao Zedong. Although Mao lived in countless residences throughout his life, for every visitor who holds him in sincere admiration, Linjiang Tower is an extraordinary revolutionary building. It gained fame alongside one of Mao’s great life anthems, “To the Tune of Caisangzi – Double Ninth,” which celebrates the indomitable spirit.

The picturesque Linjiang Tower was originally the site of the “Guangfulong” warehouse and also the villa of a trading business owner. It once housed a hotel and businesses dealing in oil, salt, rice, and beans. The building covers an area of about 300 m² and has three stories (three floors on the outside, two on the inside). During the Agrarian Revolutionary War period, veteran proletarian revolutionaries such as Mao Zedong and Zhu De visited Shanghang multiple times to carry out revolutionary activities. Mao came to Shanghang nine times.

In October 1929, Mao Zedong came to Shanghang once again and stayed in the east wing room on the second floor of Linjiang Tower. At that time, Mao was suffering from severe malaria and was carried on a stretcher by several Red Guards all the way from Yongding Hexi to the newly liberated Shanghang City. The next morning, Mao stood at the front of the central hall on the second floor of Linjiang Tower, facing the strong autumn wind, gazing at the chrysanthemums blooming all over the hills on the opposite bank and the ever-flowing Ting River. Reflecting on the battle journey of the Fourth Red Army in Fujian over the past six months and the fiery scenes of the land revolution in western Fujian, he was moved by the scene and wrote the poem “To the Tune of Caisangzi – Double Ninth”:

Man ages all too easily, not Nature: Year by year the Double Ninth returns. On this Double Ninth, The yellow blooms on the battlefield smell sweeter. Each year the autumn wind blows fierce, Unlike spring’s splendor, Yet surpassing spring’s splendor. See the endless expanse of river and sky covered with frost.

Mao stayed at Linjiang Tower for about twenty days and left Shanghang in late October, passing through Shuixi Ferry, General Bridge, and Baisha on his way to Sujiapo, the headquarters of the Western Fujian Special Committee of the Communist Party of China, to guide work.

Linjiang Tower became mythically associated with the stay of a great man. In October 1985, it was announced by the People’s Government of Fujian Province as a second batch Provincial-Level Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

In May 2013, the State Council (State Council Document [2013] No. 13) designated Shanghang Linjiang Tower as a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Mao Zedong (December 26, 1893 – September 9, 1976), courtesy name Runzhi (originally Yongzhi, later changed to Runzhi), pen name Ziren. A native of Xiangtan, Hunan. He was the leader of the Chinese people, a Marxist, a great proletarian revolutionary, strategist, and theorist, the principal founder and leader of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese People's Liberation Army, and the People’s Republic of China, as well as a poet and calligrapher. From 1949 to 1976, Mao served as the paramount leader of the People’s Republic of China. His contributions to the development of Marxism-Leninism, military theory, and... More details about Mao Zedong++

Linjiang Town: A town under the jurisdiction of Shanghang County. It is the seat of the county government. Established as Fucheng District in 1949, it became Chengguan Town in 1953, was reorganized as a commune in 1958, restored as a town in 1984, and renamed Linjiang Town in 1986. Located in the western part of the county, it covers an area of 4.9 square kilometers with a population of 30,000. National Highway 205 passes through the northern part of the town. It administers six neighborhood committees: Zhendong, Zhongzhong, Zhennan, Tianshan, Yingming, and Zhenxi. Local enterprises include cold-working machinery plants, cement plants, paper-foil plants, and daily bamboo and wood processing factories. Main products include transformers, fluorescent lamps, and cement. The main agricultural products are rice, vegetables, and flue-cured tobacco. In 1993... More details about Linjiang Town++

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units