Former Site of Wang Hebo’s Efforts to Win Over the Mawei Navy

Former Site of Wang Hebo’s Efforts to Win Over the Mawei Navy

The former site of Wang Hebo’s efforts to win over the Mawei Navy is located at Chaojianglou, No. 177 Qianjie, Majiang Community, beside the old passenger ferry terminal in Mawei Town, Mawei District, Fuzhou City. Built in the late Qing Dynasty, it initially operated as a teahouse and later also functioned as a guesthouse and restaurant. The original structure was a two-story brick-and-wood building. In 1930, Chaojianglou was destroyed in a fire and was subsequently rebuilt as a three-story brick-and-wood structure.

In July 1926, the National Revolutionary Army pledged to launch the Northern Expedition in Guangzhou. That autumn, Comrade Wang Hebo (who was elected as the first Chairman of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection at the 5th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 1927 and was then an alternate executive member of the CPC Central Committee) returned to Fuzhou from Shanghai upon the assignment of the Party Central Committee. His special mission was to extensively develop a united front, win over the Mawei Navy, and pave the way for the entry of the Northern Expeditionary Army into Fujian. In October, the Eastern Route Army of the Northern Expedition entered Fujian, and the First Army under the Beiyang warlord Zhang Yi retreated from Zhangzhou toward Fuzhou. On November 26, Zhang Yi’s forces reached the southern bank of the Wulong River, preparing to cross into Fuzhou and organize stubborn resistance. At that time, Comrade Wang Hebo, in his capacity as a special envoy of the CPC Central Committee, resided at Chaojianglou, where he organized efforts at the Mawei Shipyard and worked to win over the Mawei Navy. On November 30, Wang Hebo, as a special envoy of the CPC, together with Kuomintang representative Lin Shouchang, and naval representatives Lin Zhiyuan and Lin Zhong, held an emergency meeting at the Chaojianglou Guesthouse in Mawei. They reached an operational plan for the navy to switch sides and cooperate with the Northern Expeditionary Army to intercept Zhang Yi’s forces. After the meeting, the main naval forces were deployed to collaborate with the Northern Expeditionary Army, blocking Zhang Yi’s troops on the southern bank of the Min River and annihilating them in a subsequent advance. They also compelled Provincial Defense Commander Li Shengchun to capitulate and welcome the Northern Expeditionary Army into Fuzhou City, thereby preventing the city from suffering wartime devastation.

In January 1992, Chaojianglou was designated by the Fuzhou Municipal People’s Government as a protected revolutionary historical memorial site marked for public recognition.

Mawei Town: A town under the jurisdiction of Mawei District, Fuzhou City. Established as the Mawei Commune in 1958, restructured as a township in 1984, and upgraded to a town in 1992. Located at the center of the Fuzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone, it is 20 kilometers from downtown Fuzhou. It covers an area of 36.7 square kilometers with a population of 27,000. Mawei Port serves as Fuzhou’s maritime gateway. The Fuma Railway and National Highway 104 run through the town, forming an integrated transport network of seaport, highway, and railway. It administers eight village committees—Rujing, Kua’an, Shangde, Xiade, Zhongzhou, Liujian, Feitou, and Xinma—and five neighborhood committees—Chuanzheng, Jinbuli, Qianjie, Houjie, and Jiangshan. Local township enterprises include... More details about Mawei Town++