Former Site of the Leadership Headquarters of the First Front Red Army in Jianning

Former Site of the Leadership Headquarters of the First Front Red Army in Jianning

The Former Site of the Leadership Headquarters of the First Front Red Army in Jianning is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit, a Classic Red Tourism Attraction, and a Patriotic Education Base.

Jianning County, Fujian Province. The former site of the General Headquarters and the General Front Committee of the First Front Red Army in Jianning County, Suicheng’s Beixikou area, was originally a Catholic church built in 1926 by German missionaries. It features a Sino-Western architectural style, divided into front and rear sections: the front part is a two-story building, while the rear is a chapel, covering a total area of 330 square meters. On May 29, 1931, after the First Front Red Army captured the county town, Mao Zedong, Secretary of the General Front Committee, and Zhu De, Commander-in-Chief, headquartered here. They held military meetings and directed the Second Counter-Encirclement Campaign. Hence, the former headquarters and General Front Committee site is also known as the “Former Residence of Mao Zedong.”

The Former Site of the Leadership Headquarters of the First Front Red Army in Jianning has been elevated to a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit. During the Second Revolutionary Civil War period, Jianning was one of the 21 Soviet counties in Central China. Veteran proletarian revolutionaries such as Mao Zedong, Zhu De, and Zhou Enlai fought, lived, and worked here, writing heroic chapters in the history of China’s revolution. In October 1985, the former sites of the “General Headquarters and General Front Committee of the First Front Red Army” and the “General Political Department of the First Front Red Army” in Jianning County were designated as provincial-level cultural relics protection units by the People’s Government of Fujian Province. In 1995, they were respectively recognized by the Provincial Youth League Committee and the Sanming Municipal Party Committee as a Provincial Youth Revolutionary Tradition Education Base and a Municipal Patriotic Education Base. In June 1997, they were designated as a Patriotic Education Base by the Fujian Provincial Party Committee. In July 2002, they were designated as a Young Pioneers Eagle Training Base by the Communist Youth League Fujian Provincial Committee and the Fujian Provincial Working Committee of the Young Pioneers. In February 2005, they were recognized as one of the nation’s Top 100 Classic Red Tourism Attractions by the state.

After the site of the First Front Red Army Leadership Headquarters was designated as a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit, Jianning County commissioned experts from the Beijing Ancient Architecture Research Institute to develop a cultural relics protection plan. To build a classic red tourism attraction, the county, relying on the former headquarters site, engaged renowned sculptors from Dalian to complete the overall planning of the “Counter-Encirclement Memorial Park” in the Central Soviet Area, covering a total area of 35,904 square meters. Meanwhile, the government office building in Xikou Town and the Historical Relics Exhibition Hall, which affected the landscape of the site, were demolished. Protective slopes were constructed around the site, and drainage facilities were improved. Supporting facilities such as site restrooms were built, and landscaping was enhanced around the site. The electrical wiring for the office building was separated from that of the site to ensure fire safety, and safety alarm systems were installed.

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units