Former Site of the Headquarters of the Eastern Red Army in Mingxi

Former Site of the Red Army’s Eastern Army Headquarters in Mingxi

The former site of the Red Army’s Eastern Army headquarters in Mingxi is a classic red tourism destination.

The former site of the Red Army’s Eastern Army headquarters, located in the ancestral home of the Zhang family in Yulian Village, Xiayang Township, Mingxi County.

From 1933 to 1934, Peng Dehuai, Yang Shangkun, Teng Daiyuan, and other leaders of the Red Army stationed in Yulian Village twice, with Peng Dehuai and Yang Shangkun residing in the Zhang family ancestral home to direct military operations.

On July 9, 1933, while the 13th Regiment of the 5th Division of the Eastern Red Army was attacking the Quanshang Fort, they employed the tactic of besieging the stronghold to strike the relief forces, defeating the defenders of Guihua City (now Mingxi), recapturing Guihua first, and subsequently liberating large areas including Qingliu and Quanshang. In the winter of the same year, the Huafeng and Aolong districts of Guihua County established district party committees and district Soviet governments, leading armed struggles in Fengxi, Huashan, Xiaoheng, Aokeng, Longkeng, Zhusha, and Xiafang.

In early January 1934, the Eastern Red Army entered Fujian again for combat. On January 4, tens of thousands of troops from the Eastern Red Army set out from Baishui Town in Jiangxi, gathered in Guihua City via Anyuan in Ninghua and Quanshang in Yun, and were stationed in Shaxi, Longhu, Xiayang, and other areas. To support the Eastern Red Army’s attack on Sha County, the command of the Ningqinggui Military District moved from Qingxiang to Guihua City and was reorganized as the Guihua Garrison District. On January 6, 1934, after elections by worker and peasant representatives from various districts and townships, the Guihua County Soviet Government was established, with Cai Fuqin elected as chairman and Zhang Guohua as vice-chairman. The Soviet regimes at the county, district, and township levels in Mingxi County reached their peak during this period. Local armed forces in Mingxi also developed rapidly. On January 25, after capturing Sha County, Commander Peng Dehuai and Political Commissar Yang Shangkun returned to Yulian Village in Xiayang Township, Mingxi, setting up the headquarters in the ancestral temple of the Zhang family in Yulian Village to command the troops. Another ancestral temple of the Zhang family, Yongmu Hall, was used as a temporary hospital to treat the wounded. On February 2, the 5th and 6th Divisions of the Eastern Red Army successively entered downtown Mingxi. The headquarters, supply depot, hospital, and radio station of the Eastern Red Army were all stationed in Guihua City. The Guihua County Soviet Government responded to the call, mobilizing residents to carry spoils of war from Sha County. On February 18, the Eastern Red Army was ordered to return to the Guangchang area.

The ancestral home of the Zhang family, the former site of the Red Army’s Eastern Army headquarters, was built in the first year of the Chongzhen era of the Ming Dynasty (1628) and renovated during the Kangxi era of the Qing Dynasty, covering an area of 1,200 square meters. The structure faces northwest and consists of enclosing walls, a courtyard, a lower hall, a central courtyard, and an upper hall, with the gatehouse located on the north side. The building is 12.3 meters wide and 20.5 meters deep. The upper hall has five bays and seven pillars, with a post-and-lintel wooden structure. The middle three bays house an ancestral shrine and feature a flush gable roof. In front of the courtyard, remnants of a blue-brick wall remain, inscribed with the characters “Xiù jiē guān zhōng” (Elegance Connecting to Central Plains).

Source: Party History Research Office of the Sanming Municipal Committee

Yulian Village: Yulian Village in Xiayang Township, Mingxi County, is a village named by imperial decree. It is located in the northeast of Mingxi County, 55 kilometers from the county seat and 7.5 kilometers from the township government. The village center sits at an elevation of 460 meters, covering a total area of about 15.6 square kilometers, including 16,349 mu of forest and 1,383 mu of arable land. The per capita net income of farmers in 2012 was 7,551 yuan. In 2010, it was designated as a provincial-level ecological civilization village. In September 2012, it was named one of Sanming’s first “Central Red Army Villages” by the Party History Research Office of the Sanming Municipal Committee. In December 2012, it was recognized by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Culture, and the Ministry of Finance of China... Detailed information on Yulian Village++