Former Site of the Headquarters of the Red Army’s Northern Expeditionary Force to Resist Japan

Former Site of the Headquarters of the Red Army’s Northern Expeditionary Force to Resist Japan

The Former Site of the Headquarters of the Red Army’s Northern Expeditionary Force to Resist Japan is a classic red tourism attraction.

The Anjun Public Hall at the Former Site of the Headquarters of the Red Army’s Northern Expeditionary Force to Resist Japan is located at No. 24 and No. 25, Kengtou Area, Xiacao Village, Caofang Township, Ninghua County.

After the September 18th Incident, Japanese imperialism occupied China’s three northeastern provinces and, emboldened, frequently provoked incidents and invaded North China, arousing immense indignation among the people across the country. Major cities nationwide witnessed massive anti-Japanese demonstrations demanding that the Kuomintang authorities stop the civil war and unite to resist Japan. However, the Kuomintang insisted on its policy of “pacifying the domestic situation before resisting foreign aggression,” continuing to deploy heavy troops to “encircle and suppress” the various Red Soviet areas led by the Communist Party.

In order to break the Kuomintang’s fifth “encirclement and suppression” campaign against the Central Soviet Area and to cover the strategic shift of the main Red Army forces, the Central Revolutionary Military Commission decided to form the Red Army’s Northern Expeditionary Force to Resist Japan. In July 1934, the Central Military Commission decided to reorganize the 7th Red Army Corps, led by Xiang Ying, Su Yu, and others, into the Northern Expeditionary Force to Resist Japan. On July 6, over 6,000 soldiers of the Red Army’s Northern Expeditionary Force to Resist Japan, under the leadership of Central Representative Zeng Hongyi, Corps Commander Xiang Ying, Political Commissar Le Shaohua, and Chief of Staff Su Yu, set out from Ruijin heading north. They passed through Changting and entered Ninghua, camping in Shangcao and Xiacao of Caofang. The headquarters of the Expeditionary Force was stationed at the Anjun Public Hall (a civilian residence) in Kengtou, Xiacao. In response to the central call, Ninghua prepared large quantities of supplies to support the Red Army’s Northern Expeditionary Force to Resist Japan and expanded the Red Army ranks by several thousand more, who then joined the Expeditionary Force on its northward journey to resist Japan.

The Former Site of the Headquarters of the Red Army’s Northern Expeditionary Force to Resist Japan was originally the ancestral home of the Cao family in Xiacao Village, Caofang Township — the Anjun Public Hall. It faces southwest and covers an area of 1,224 square meters. Built during the Qing Dynasty, this typical Hakka-style ancient residential building features a two-courtyard, three-hall layout with auxiliary structures, and is constructed with brick and wood. The overall building remains in fair condition, with three surviving Red Army slogans visible on its interior walls.

The Anjun Public Hall at the Former Site of the Headquarters of the Red Army’s Northern Expeditionary Force to Resist Japan, along with other Ming and Qing dynasty architectural complexes in Xiacao Village, was designated as a Cultural Relics Protection Unit of Ninghua County by the Ninghua County People’s Government in November 2011.

Source: Party History Research Office of the Sanming Municipal Committee