Memorial Monument to the Battle of Guihua

Memorial Monument to the Battle of Guihua

The Memorial Monument to the Battle of Guihua is a classic site on China’s Red Tourism Classic Routes.

The Memorial Monument to the Battle of Guihua is located at Tieling Pass, 2 kilometers northeast of Longhu Village, Hanxian Town, Mingxi County.

On March 22, 1934, over 10,000 troops from the Nationalist 10th Division (commanded by Li Mohan, stationed in Bailian, Jiangle) and the 52nd Division (commanded by Lu Xingbang, stationed in Yong'an), supported by air forces, set out from Bailian, Jiangle, intending to attack Guihua County. The Red 7th Army Corps, with over 3,000 soldiers stationed in Guihua and local armed forces of the Ningqinggui Military Sub-district, under the command of Corps Commander Xun HuaiZhou and Political Commissar Yue Shaohua, engaged in battle at Tongling, Jiangle. Tongling connects with Tieling in Mingxi, featuring continuous peaks, winding mountain paths, and the main peak TianShanggang, a strategically vital and treacherous pass that serves as a key route through northwestern Fujian. From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., intense fighting took place between the two sides. During the battle, the Red Army killed over 100 enemy soldiers, including 2 officers, wounded 155, and captured more than 500 guns. Due to ammunition shortages, the Red Army withdrew to Shazhou Geling area, allowing the Nationalist forces to advance into Guihua County.

On the morning of March 26, the 10th Division of the Nationalist Army under Li Mohan rotated back to Jiangle. The Red 7th Army Corps set an ambush at Tieling, on the border of Mingxi and Jiangle, preparing to annihilate the enemy. At noon, when the main force of the enemy entered the Red Army’s ambush zone, they were fiercely attacked and fell into disarray, with surviving troops fleeing to Bailian. With the cooperation of the Ningqinggui Military Sub-district, the Red 7th Army Corps swept through the remaining enemies at Tongling and Tieling in one go, recapturing Guihua County. In the second battle, the Red Army killed over 30 enemies, including 2 officers, captured over 50 guns and 3 machine guns, and took over 60 prisoners.

The Battle of Tong-Tieling (also known as the Battle of Guihua) was a major victory for the Red Army during the fifth counter-“encirclement and suppression” campaign on the eastern front. Following the victory at Tong-Tieling, the Red 7th Army Corps and other units were commended by the Central Revolutionary Military Commission.

To commemorate the victory of the Tong-Tieling Battle, in 1987, the People’s Government of Mingxi County erected a book-shaped monument at the site of the Tieling Battle. The monument commemorates the heroic deeds of the Red Army commanders and soldiers, serving as an educational site for future generations. The monument is made of granite, shaped like an open book, 1 meter thick, 2 meters high, and 4 meters wide. The left side of the monument bears the inscription “The People’s Heroes Shall Live Forever,” each character 30 centimeters tall in a font modeled after Mao Zedong’s handwriting. The right side reads “Site of the Battle of Guihua” along with a site description. The base of the monument is 1.5 meters high, covered with black marble. The site covers an area of 100 square meters. Trenches used during the battle still remain at the location.

In December 1995, the Memorial Monument to the Battle of Guihua was designated as a Sanming Municipal Patriotic Education Base by the CPC Sanming Municipal Committee and the People’s Government of Sanming City.

Source: Party History Research Office of the Sanming Municipal Committee