Battle Site of the Red Army at Wan'an Bridge

Battle Site of the Red Army at Wan'an Bridge

The Battle Site of the Red Army at Wan'an Bridge is a classic red tourism attraction.

The Battle Site of the Red Army at Wan'an Bridge is located on the east side of the eastern gate tower of Jianning County, in Suixi Town, Jianning County. Spanning the Suixi River, it connects the main urban area of the county with the Hedong area to the east and runs from east to west.

On May 31, 1931, during the battle to capture Jianning City in the Second Counter-"Encirclement" Campaign, fighting continued into the afternoon when the Red Army had already taken control of Xikou in the northern part of the city, Qingyun Ridge, Longbao Mountain in the western part of the city, and the area south of the southern gate. This cut off the enemy’s escape route southward to Ninghua and Guihua, bringing them right to the gates of Jianning City. Around 15:00, the 4th Division of the 3rd Red Army Corps crossed the Suixi River from the foot of Taxia Tower in Xikou, circled around to the opposite bank of the city, and flanked the enemy, capturing Dongshan. From Dongshan, they set up firepower targeting the only remaining road out of the city—the Wan'an Bridge—which led toward Tai'an. Subsequently, Red Army forces from the north, west, and south of the city breached the defenses and entered the urban area. The enemy retreated toward Wan'an Bridge in an attempt to flee to Tai'an but were intercepted by the Red Army on Dongshan. Many were killed or drowned, and by 18:00, the Red Army had captured Jianning City. With this victory, the Red Army achieved complete success in the Second Counter-"Encirclement" Campaign.

On May 16, 1934, during the Fifth Counter-"Encirclement" Campaign and the Defense of Jianning in the Central Soviet Area, the Red Army held their position here to block the offensive of the Nationalist Eastern Route Army’s Tang Enbo Column, which was attacking Jianning City from the east. This action protected the retreat and relocation of the Red Army inside the city and the organs of the Fujian–Jiangxi Provincial Government. At 09:30, the Red Army inside the city, along with the Fujian–Jiangxi Provincial Government organs, the Jianning County Committee of the Communist Party of China, and the Jianning County Soviet Government, safely evacuated Jianning City and relocated southwestward to areas such as Jun Kou, Yi Jia, Ke Fang, and Ninghua.

Wan'an Bridge was originally built in the first year of the Shaoding era of the Song Dynasty (1228). It was originally a stone arch bridge with wooden roofing, which was repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt due to floods and fires. During the Qing Dynasty, it was reconstructed as a stone-surfaced bridge with four piers and five spans. In the 1960s and 1970s, it was reinforced, widened, and paved with a concrete deck. On June 16, 2002, it was completely destroyed by a once-in-a-century flood. It was later rebuilt on the original site. The reconstructed bridge has four piers and five spans, with a deck width of 15.5 meters, featuring a structure of 4×20-meter prestressed concrete hollow slabs combined with 12-meter reinforced concrete special-shaped slabs. The western end of the bridge is the eastern gate tower of the ancient Jianning city, while the eastern end is Dongshan. This bridge was an important battlefield during both the final battle of the Second Counter-"Encirclement" Campaign—the Battle of Jianning City—and the defense of Jianning City during the Fifth Counter-"Encirclement" Campaign.

Source: Party History Research Office of the Sanming Municipal Committee