Former Red Army Garrison Site

Former Red Army Garrison Site

The former Red Army garrison site is a classic destination for red tourism.

The former Red Army garrison site on Mount Emei is located atop Mount Emei in Xin Qiao Township, Taining County.

On March 19, 1934, when the Nationalist army attacked the county seat of Taining, the Battle to Defend the County Seat officially commenced. Peng Dehuai, commander of the Red Third Army Corps, along with Yang Shangkun, Lin Biao, Nie Rongzhen, Luo Ronghuan, and others, acting under orders from the Central Revolutionary Military Commission, led the 1st and 2nd Divisions of the Red First Army Corps, the 4th and 5th Divisions of the Red Third Army Corps, and the 13th Division of the Red Fifth Army Corps from Qia Village, Nanfeng, Jiangxi, to reinforce Taining. While en route, due to being outnumbered, the defending troops were forced to withdraw and the county seat fell into enemy hands. The Red Army forces then proceeded to take up defensive positions around Mount Emei in Xin Qiao, Taining.

On March 22, the Counterattack at Xin Qiao began. The Red Army concentrated five divisions and two regiments. The enemy deployed three divisions and one regiment. Over the six days from March 22 to 27, the Red Army organized eight battles of varying scale. Although they failed to achieve their objective of preventing the convergence of the enemy’s 3rd and 10th columns at Xin Qiao, they managed to delay the Nationalist army’s encirclement of Jianing. This played a certain role in the Red Army's efforts to break the Nationalists' fifth “encirclement and suppression” campaign. After the counterattack, the enemy began constructing fortifications in sections but showed no further offensive intent. The Red Army and the Nationalist forces faced off for two days before the Red Army withdrew to the Mount Emei area. Later, the 3rd Column of the Nationalist Northern Army marched from Xin Qiao toward Nanfeng with intentions to invade Guangchang. The Central Revolutionary Military Commission ordered the Red First and Third Army Corps to return to southern Jiangxi to participate in the Defense of Guangchang, leaving the 13th Division behind at Mount Emei to delay the enemy and regroup. They held their position there until April 15 before departing.

The former Red Army garrison site on Mount Emei is located within Xin Qiao Township in the northern part of Taining County, 24 kilometers from the county seat. It lies on the southwestern foothills of the central section of the Wuyi Mountains, with the main peak of Mount Emei reaching an elevation of 1,714 meters, making it the seventh highest peak in Fujian Province. It earned its name due to its resemblance to Mount Emei in Sichuan. In 2000, it was designated as a Fujian Provincial Nature Reserve by the People’s Government of Fujian Province. Mount Emei has now been developed as one of the tourist scenic areas of Taining.

Source: Party History Research Office of the Sanming Municipal Committee

Xin Qiao Township: A township under the jurisdiction of Taining County. Established as the Shangyou Commune in 1958, it was merged into the Zhukou Commune in 1960, split off to form the Xin Qiao Commune in 1962, and restructured as a township in 1984. Located in the northwest of the county, it is 24 kilometers from the county seat, covering an area of 105.5 square kilometers with a population of 8,000. The Taili Highway runs through the township. It administers nine village committees: Dayuan, Daxing, Shuiyuan, Wangming, Xin Qiao, Kengping, Fengyuan, Fenxin, and Lingxia. The area is rich in forest and wildlife resources, including rare tree species such as Bretschneidera sinensis and Masson pine. The main agricultural products are rice, fruit, and bamboo. Provincial-level cultural heritage sites include Song Dynasty porcelain kilns… More detailed information about Xin Qiao Township ++