Former Site of the Red Army's Northern Expedition Anti-Japanese Vanguard Camp

Former Site of the Red Army's Northern Expedition Anti-Japanese Vanguard Camp

The former site of the Red Army's northern expedition anti-Japanese vanguard camp is a classic red tourism attraction.

The former site of the Red Army's northern expedition anti-japanese vanguard camp, the Jinghu Ancestral Hall, is located in Xiaca, Xiacun Village, Caofang Township, Ninghua County, with Provincial Highway 205 passing approximately 200 meters to the west.

In July 1934, the Central Military Commission decided to reorganize the 7th Red Army Corps, led by Xun Huaizhou and Su Yu, into the Northern Expedition Anti-Japanese Vanguard. On July 6, over 6,000 soldiers of the Red Army's Northern Expedition Anti-Japanese Vanguard, under the leadership of Central Delegate Zeng Hongyi, Corps Commander Xun Huaizhou, Political Commissar Le Shaohua, and Chief of Staff Su Yu, set out from Ruijin heading north. They entered Ninghua via Changting, camping in Shangcao and Xiacao of Caofang, with a section of the vanguard troops staying at the Jinghu Ancestral Hall in Xiaca village. In response to the central call, Ninghua mobilized a large amount of supplies to support the vanguard troops and expanded its Red Army forces by several thousand more, who then joined the vanguard on their way north to resist Japan.

The former site of the Red Army's northern expedition anti-japanese vanguard camp is the Jinghu Ancestral Hall, an ancestral temple of the Cao clan descendants. It faces west and covers an area of 1,667 square meters. Built during the Qing Dynasty, it is a classic example of traditional Hakka architecture, featuring a post-and-lintel timber structure with a front hall and stage, combined with brick and wood construction. Parts of the wooden structures in the wing rooms on both sides of the lower hall have suffered mold damage, while two slogans left by the Red Army remain on the inner wall of the upper hall’s left side. The overall building is relatively well preserved.

The former site of the Red Army's northern expedition anti-japanese vanguard camp — the Jinghu Ancestral Hall — along with other Ming and Qing dynasty ancient buildings in Xiacao, was designated as a Cultural Relics Protection Unit of Ninghua County by the Ninghua County People’s Government in November 2011, and was listed as a Famous Historical and Cultural Village of Fujian Province by the Fujian Provincial Department of Culture and Construction in January 2012.

Source: Party History Research Office of the Sanming Municipal Committee