Site of the Chen Huzhou Bean Cake Shop Vandalism Incident

Site of the Chen Huzhou Bean Cake Shop Vandalism Incident

The Site of the Chen Huzhou Bean Cake Shop Vandalism Incident is a classic red tourism attraction.

The Site of the Chen Huzhou Bean Cake Shop Vandalism Incident is located at No. 122–136 Nangongkou Road, Hanxi Subdistrict, Hanjiang District, Putian City.

On September 12, 1929, the British-owned Tai Li Company’s steamer “Jia’ao” arrived at Hanjiang’s Sankou Port from Xiamen. An incident occurred on board where British comprador Wang Jiusi incited sailors to assault Lin Jingyi, a Xiamen University student returning home. One of Lin’s companions secretly returned to Xiamen to report the incident to the Putian Fellow Townsman Association in Xiamen. Chen Guozhen, an underground CCP member serving on the association, immediately convened a meeting of fellow townsmen. While negotiating with Tai Li Company, he also telegraphed Zhang Ruiqi and others from the Daxia faction in Putian, instructing them to seize the Jia’ao steamer. At the time, Wu Yalu, an inspector from the Provincial Committee, was conducting work inspections in Putian and viewed this as a prime opportunity to mobilize the masses for a patriotic anti-imperialist struggle. After mobilization, on September 17 of the same month, over 300 students, workers, and peasants led by Zhang Ruiqi and Guo Shouluan rushed to Sankou Port, boarded the Jia’ao, but did not find the British comprador. It turned out the comprador had already heard the news and requested protection from the navy garrison stationed in Hanjiang. Unable to apprehend the British comprador, the crowd headed to the Sankou Customs to demand the steamer’s port clearance documents and inspected military vehicles stationed there. On their way back to Hanjiang, they smashed the Special Consumption Tax Bureau located on Gongxia Street. They then proceeded to Gongkou Street and vandalized the Chen Huzhou Bean Cake Shop, which had been colluding with the British merchants. In the aftermath, to broaden the anti-imperialist patriotic united front, the County Committee decided that the labor union would convene workers, teachers, students, and citizens to form the “Putian Anti-Imperialist and Lin Case Support Committee.” For three consecutive days, rallies were organized in Hanjiang and the urban area, and telegrams were sent across the country to expose the “Lin Case.” Although the stationed troops, under the command of Lin Shouguo, dispatched two platoons to Hanjiang to reinforce security, the soldiers, moved by the patriotic enthusiasm of the masses, merely stood by and watched without interfering. The masses even distributed leaflets to the soldiers. Because the ideological groundwork and mobilization for this mass movement were relatively mature and its political impact considerable, the Putian County Committee received commendation from the Provincial Committee.

The Site of the Chen Huzhou Bean Cake Shop Vandalism Incident was originally a two-story building constructed with plain red bricks, built in the 1920s or 1930s along Gongkou River. The riverside ground floor featured arched corridors, running east-west with a length of about 20 meters. The main building had a two-story single-bay continuous layout with a hanging gable roof. The first floor had a depth of one bay, divided into six bays, each with a shop-style door and window corresponding to one large and one small arched entrance. Each bay had a wooden staircase leading to the second floor. Behind the main structure was a single-story auxiliary building, each room as wide as the main house with one bay depth, and small arched doors on both side walls connecting the rooms. The total area covered approximately 180 square meters. The site was damaged during the old city renovation in 1992.

Source: Party History Research Office of the Putian Municipal Committee

Hanxi Subdistrict: Located in the southern part of Hanjiang District, Putian City, Fujian Province, Hanxi Subdistrict lies in the western half of the Hanjiang urban area. It covers an area of 3 square kilometers with a total population of about 35,000. It governs 10 communities. The Fu-Xia Highway passes through the area. Established as Hanjiang Town in 1961, it was renamed Hanjiang Subdistrict in 1984. In February 1993, Hanjiang Subdistrict was abolished and replaced by Handong and Hanxi Subdistricts. In 1997, Hanxi Subdistrict covered an area of 3 square kilometers with a population of 19,000, governing six neighborhood committees—Xiaoyi, Qianjie, Qingnian, Yanning, Louxia, and Baowei—and two village committees—Hanxi and Canglin. Later it governed Hanxi, Canglin, Louxia, Xiaoyi, Qing… More detailed information on Hanxi Subdistrict ++