Hongjing Scenic Area

Hongjing Scenic Area

The Hongjing Scenic Area is a classic red tourism destination.

The Shazhouba Hongjing Tourist Area (January 1933 ~ July 1934), the site of the Central Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party, the Central Bureau of the Communist Youth League, the Central Executive Bureau of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, and the Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic, is located in Shazhouba Town, about 5 kilometers northwest of Ruijin City. From April 1933 to July 1934, the central authorities relocated from Ye Ping to Shazhouba, making it the heart of the Central Revolutionary Base.

In April 1933, due to betrayal, the location of the central government at Ye Ping was exposed, and Nationalist planes continuously bombed the village. For safety reasons, the central authorities moved from Ye Ping to Shazhouba, which then became the heart of the Central Revolutionary Base and the second site of the Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic.

Major attractions include the world-famous "Hongjing Well," the former site of the Central Executive Committee (Mao Zedong’s former residence), the former site of the Central People’s Committee, the former site of the Central People’s Committee of the Chinese Soviet Republic, the site of the Second National Congress of the Chinese Soviet Republic (Central Government Auditorium), the former site of the Central Revolutionary Military Commission of the Chinese Soviet Republic, the former site of the Central Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party, the Central Bureau of the Communist Youth League, the former site of the Central Executive Bureau of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions in the Soviet Area, the former site of the General Political Department of the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army, the former site of the Food Department of the Chinese Soviet Republic, the former site of the Finance Department of the Chinese Soviet Republic, the former site of the Audit Department of the Chinese Soviet Republic, the former site of the Land Department of the Chinese Soviet Republic, the former site of the National Economic Department of the Chinese Soviet Republic, and four national key cultural relics protection units, as well as over twenty other former sites of central and state ministries and commissions.

Mao Zedong wrote his brilliant works here, including "Our Economic Policy," "Be Concerned with the Well-Being of the Masses, Pay Attention to Methods of Work," "How to Analyze the Classes in the Rural Areas," and "On the Importance of Economic Work."

Hongjing Well is located in Shazhouba, Ruijin. It was dug in 1933. In 1950, the people of Ruijin renovated the well in preparation for the arrival of the Central Southern Old Revolutionary Base Visiting Delegation and named it "Hongjing Well." A wooden sign was erected beside the well, inscribed with the words: "When drinking water, never forget those who dug the well; always think of Chairman Mao." This expressed the gratitude and remembrance of the people of Shazhouba toward Chairman Mao. Later, the wooden sign was replaced with a stone stele. It was dug by Chairman Mao to dispel superstitions and is a national key cultural relic protection unit.

There is a text in the first volume of elementary school Chinese textbooks called "Never Forget the Man Who Dug the Well," which refers to the Hongjing Well in Shazhouba, Ruijin. There is also a song titled "The Water of Hongjing Well," which once became popular throughout China. Hongjing Well is a testament to the deep bond between the Party, the Red Army, and the people of the Soviet Area, and its water is water of happiness.

In 1933, after Mao Zedong discovered that villagers had difficulty accessing drinking water, he convened a village meeting to address the issue. Many villagers said, "This place is not suitable for digging a well; doing so will bring retribution, and even if you dig, you may not find water. This place is where the drought dragon lies." Mao laughed heartily and said, "Superstition is not to be believed — I will dig this well." Mao led several Red Army soldiers to explore the water source a few dozen meters in front of the village and began digging. Seeing Chairman Mao personally working on the well, the villagers also joined in with their tools. At a depth of five meters, a spring gushed out, and the well was finally completed, lined with cobblestones. Afterward, other villagers in Shazhouba also began digging wells, and the problem of access to drinking water was finally resolved.

The former residence of Mao Zedong in Shazhouba was originally the private ancestral hall of Yang Yanlan, a bankrupt landlord during the Soviet period, known as Yuantai House, built in 1876, and is a typical Hakka-style dwelling. In April 1933, the Central Executive Committee moved here from Ye Ping.

The Central Executive Committee was established at the First National Soviet Congress held in November 1931, consisting of 63 members, with Mao Zedong elected as chairman, and Xiang Ying and Zhang Guotao as vice-chairmen. At the Second National Soviet Congress held in January 1934, Mao Zedong was re-elected as chairman, with Xiang Ying and Zhang Guotao as vice-chairmen. The Central Executive Committee was the highest authority after the closing of the All-Soviet Congress, responsible not only for enacting and promulgating laws but also for supervising their implementation. During its three years of existence, the Central Executive Committee issued hundreds of laws and regulations, such as the "Land Law" and the "Labor Law," playing a vital role in the establishment and healthy development of the Chinese Soviet Republic.

Leaders such as Mao Zedong, He Shuheng, Xu Teli, and Xie Juezai lived and worked here. Aside from Mao Zedong, the other three, together with Lin Boqu and Dong Biwu, were respectfully referred to as the "Five Elders of the Soviet Area." During his stay, Mao often engaged with the masses, cared about their lives and production, and conducted investigations in Changgang Township and Caixi Township. He also wrote such brilliant works as "On the Importance of Economic Work," "How to Analyze the Classes in the Rural Areas," "Our Economic Policy," and "Be Concerned with the Well-Being of the Masses, Pay Attention to Methods of Work."

In July 1934, the Central Executive Committee left Shazhouba and relocated to Yunshishan. This former site is now a national key cultural relic protection unit.

At the beginning of the establishment of the Chinese Soviet Republic, the Forestry and Water Conservancy Bureau of the Land Department was formed, and forestry leadership organizations were established at the provincial, county, and township levels to manage the planting, cultivation, protection, and development of local forests, laying a solid organizational foundation for the development of forestry.

The former site of the Forestry and Water Conservancy Bureau of the Chinese Soviet Republic is located in Shazhouba, Ruijin. Behind the main building, nine lush ancient camphor trees are particularly eye-catching, symbolizing the vitality and continuous growth of the forestry industry.

The most important part of the former site is the exhibition room on the history of forestry in the Chinese Soviet Republic, divided into six sections: "Establishing the Red Soviet Area, Pioneering Green Initiatives," "Forming a National Government, Unifying Forestry Leadership," "Formulating Policies, Developing Forestry in the Soviet Area," "Launching Tree Planting Campaigns, Promoting Agricultural Development," "Implementing Forest Conservation, Supporting the Revolutionary War," and "Promoting Revolutionary Traditions, Building a Green Great Wall." With detailed materials, rich cultural relics, and exquisite presentation, it recreates the grand history of forestry development in the Soviet Area.

The Central National Economic People’s Committee was an important department of the Soviet Central Government responsible for formulating economic development plans for the Soviet Area and managing overall economic regulation. Established in Shazhouba in February 1933, it was headed successively by Deng Zihui, Lin Boqu, and Wu Liangping. In April 1933, the National Economic Committee was formed, with eight members including Deng Zihui, Zhang Wentian, Xiang Ying, and Wu Liangping.

The Central National Economic People’s Committee was one of the additional government bodies established under extremely difficult economic conditions in the base area. In August 1933, it organized economic construction conferences in 17 southern counties and 11 northern counties. Guided by the principles of "mobilizing all efforts to ensure the needs of the war" and appropriately improving people's livelihoods, it achieved significant results in comprehensively promoting and developing the economy of the Soviet Area.

In accordance with the requirements of the Soviet Central Government and based on the actual economic conditions of the Soviet Area, the Central National Economic People’s Committee fully leveraged its regulatory functions, advised the central government, timely proposed economic development suggestions and plans, adjusted and optimized industrial structures, balanced production supply and demand, concentrated funds on key economic projects, guided and supervised the healthy and rapid development of the Soviet economy, and achieved remarkable results from a poor and backward starting point, making major contributions to the Chinese revolution and the economic development of the base area. It also accumulated valuable experience for subsequent macroeconomic management and planning efforts.

The former site of the Municipal Administrative Bureau of the Chinese Soviet Republic is located at Hongjing in Shazhouba, Ruijin. In November 1931, the Chinese Communist Party established the first red political power in Chinese history — the Chinese Soviet Republic — in Ruijin. Revolutionary pioneers in municipal construction, represented by comrades such as Zeng Shan, He Shuheng, Liang Botai, and Qian Zhuangfei, fearlessly overcame difficulties to initiate the great cause of municipal construction in the Central Soviet Area, composing a glorious chapter of people’s governance leading urban and rural development.

Under the leadership of the Central Soviet Government, municipal construction workers started from scratch, overcoming numerous challenges to build hospitals, schools, and other facilities, as well as develop and manage municipal infrastructure such as running water, roads, bridges, and streetlights. They made positive contributions to the construction of the Central Soviet Area, the improvement of living conditions for the military and civilians, and the consolidation and development of the red regime.

To summarize the practical experience of municipal work under the red regime, explore the glorious history of municipal work during the Soviet period, promote the fine revolutionary traditions of the Soviet Area, protect revolutionary sites, the National Ministry of Construction allocated special funds to restore its former site. Relevant departments of the Ministry of Construction, Jiangxi Province, and Ruijin City have also excavated and displayed a wealth of historical facts within the site.

The Chinese Communist Party established the largest rural revolutionary base in the country in southern Jiangxi — the Central Revolutionary Base — and created the first national red political power in Chinese history — the Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic — within the base. After the establishment of the Soviet Government, great importance was attached to statistics. Comrade Mao Zedong proposed the famous assertion during the Soviet period: "No investigation, no right to speak."

The statistical agencies within the Soviet Government became indispensable functional departments, carrying out a great deal of effective work in armed struggle and economic construction, pioneering the statistical work of the people's government and accumulating valuable experience for the statistical development of New China.

The former site of the Investigation and Statistics Bureau of the Chinese Soviet Republic has become a base for the statistical community to carry out education on revolutionary traditions. It inherits and promotes the glorious traditions and fine work styles of statistical work in the Chinese Soviet Republic, encouraging generations to learn from the dedication of their predecessors, their spirit of conducting in-depth, practical investigations, and to keep pace with the times, work diligently, innovate, and make new contributions to building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

The former site of the Central Audit Committee of the Chinese Soviet Republic and the National Patriotic Education Base of the Audit System is located within the Hongjing Scenic Area in Shazhouba, Ruijin.

The restoration of the former site serves not only to commemorate the martyrs and honor the contributions of audit work under the Chinese Communist Party to the revolutionary cause but also to establish the image of auditing, expand its influence, and help people better understand, value, and support audit work.

On the other hand, it aims to develop the former site into a patriotic education base for the national audit system, providing an important venue for audit officials to receive education on revolutionary traditions. This allows audit officials to gain a deeper and more systematic understanding of the emergence and development of audit work under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, further promoting the hardworking, fearless, diligent, clean, and selfless revolutionary spirit of the older generation of proletarian revolutionaries. It encourages audit officials to love their work, be dedicated, selfless, and to strengthen their sense of mission, responsibility, and urgency in carrying out audit work under new circumstances.

In May 2000, the Ministry of Civil Affairs of China allocated special funds to restore the former site of the Central Internal Affairs People's Commissariat in Shazhouba, Ruijin, to its original appearance, and built the Central Soviet Area Internal Affairs History Exhibition Hall. A national revolutionary tradition education base for the education system was also established. On October 31, 2001, the then Minister of Civil Affairs of China attended the unveiling ceremony of the restoration of the former site of the Internal Affairs People's Committee of the Chinese Soviet Republic.

The former site of the Supreme Court of the Chinese Soviet Republic is located in Shazhouba, Ruijin City, and is one of the important revolutionary historical sites from the Soviet area period. In December 1931, the preparatory staff of the Provisional Supreme Tribunal selected the Yang Family Ancestral Hall in Dongkeng Village, Shazhouba, Ruijin County (then a centrally administered county) as the tribunal's base. This ancestral hall was originally built during the Tongzhi era of the Qing Dynasty and is of timber and earth structure. The Supreme Tribunal organized laborers to build a front gate wall, the south and north gates of the wall, a sentry tower and guardhouse on the back hill, as well as dug an air-raid shelter and a well. The tribunal faced the Central Judicial People's Commissariat to the north from afar.

Comrade He Shuheng’s office and living quarters were set up in a simple small room in the lower hall of the ancestral hall. In February 1934, after the establishment of the Supreme Court, Comrade Dong Biwu, who succeeded him, also set up his office and bedroom in the Yang family private ancestral hall, taking over He Shuheng’s duties. During this period, Dong Biwu personally served as the presiding judge of the Supreme Tribunal’s Special Tribunal, presiding over the trial of Xiong Xianbi, Chairman of the Soviet Government of Yudu County, on charges of shielding crimes. He was sentenced to one year in prison and deprivation of civil rights for one year, and the verdict of this case is still preserved. In July and August 1934, the Supreme Court moved to the Yunshishan area in the west of the county along with the central authorities. In October of the same year, when the main force of the Red Army carried out a strategic transfer and began the sensational 25,000-li Long March, important leaders of the Supreme Court such as Comrade Dong Biwu also embarked on the Long March.

Currently, the former site has been restored to its historical appearance, with offices and living quarters set up for three comrades—He Shuheng, Dong Biwu, and Liang Botai—as well as institutions such as the Supreme Court Committee, Military Tribunal, Criminal Tribunal, Civil Tribunal, Judicial Police Unit, and Detention House. The courtroom has also been re-arranged in the main hall. Over 200 cultural relics and exhibits are displayed at the site. The plaque inscribed with “Former Site of the Supreme Court of the Chinese Soviet Republic” at the site was written by Comrade Zheng Tianxiang, former President of the Supreme People’s Court of China.

The Supreme Court of the Chinese Soviet Republic had one President, two Vice Presidents, appointed by the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee. Dong Biwu served as the first President of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court had institutions such as the Criminal Tribunal, Civil Tribunal, and Military Tribunal, which handled relevant cases, with each tribunal having one Chief Judge. The Supreme Court implemented a unified system of judicial and prosecutorial functions, with one Chief Prosecutor, one Deputy Chief Prosecutor, and several prosecutors; the Chief Prosecutor and Deputy Chief Prosecutor were appointed by the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee.

In November 1931, when the Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic was established, the Red China News Agency was created. In those war-torn years, the Red China News Agency promoted the various principles of the Chinese Communist Party and made indelible contributions to the founding of New China.

The former site of the Red China News Agency is located in Dabu Village, Shazhouba, Ruijin City. It has been restored to its historical appearance, maintaining the timber and earth structure typical of southern Jiangnan Hakka architecture, covering an area of 2,000 square meters.

The Central Labor People's Commissariat of the Chinese Soviet Republic was established in November 1931. At that time, the Labor Department was located in the temporary Central Government Hall in Yepin. In April 1933, it moved with the temporary central government to Xinchating in Shazhouba, and in July 1934, it relocated to Niuluxia New House in Yunshishan. In October of the same year, it moved northward with the provisional central government to resist Japan. Xiang Ying and Deng Zhenxun successively served as Ministers of Labor, while Liu Shaoqi and Zhu Rongsheng once served as Deputy Ministers.

To inherit and carry forward the glorious traditions of labor and social security work in the Central Soviet Area, the Ministry of Labor and Social Security of China funded the reconstruction of the former site according to its original appearance. The project commenced on May 21, 2001, and was completed on September 20 of the same year. All indoor exhibits are reproductions based on the original state.

The former site of the Central Consumer Cooperative Union of the Chinese Soviet Republic was originally located at the Guan Di Temple at the head of Yunlong Bridge in Ruijin County. Due to the temple’s long-term disrepair and urban redevelopment plans, a new site was chosen within the Shazhouba Revolutionary Heritage Cluster to replicate the original appearance of the Central Consumer Cooperative Union. Approved and funded by the All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives in September 2000, the project was designed by the Jiangxi Provincial Supply and Marketing Cooperative and implemented by the Ruijin Municipal Supply and Marketing Cooperative, and was completed in October 2001. The site covers an area of 442.6 m².

The Central Judicial People's Commissariat was part of the “Nine Departments and One Bureau” of the then Soviet Central Government and is the earliest judicial administrative organ of our Party. The Central Judicial People's Commissariat holds an important place in the history of China’s legal system construction. At that time, the Central Judicial People's Commissariat had a Central Judicial Committee responsible for overall leadership of judicial organs; it also had a Criminal Division and a Civil Division, which managed detention centers and reformatories (prisons), among other matters; and a General Affairs Division, which oversaw all affairs of the Judicial People's Commissariat.

The restoration of the former site of the Central Judicial People's Commissariat was carried out based on its original appearance. As one of the important revolutionary historical sites in the Central Soviet Area, the restoration of the Central Judicial People's Commissariat will further enrich the content of revolutionary tradition education, open up new avenues for studying the judicial system, especially the judicial administrative system, during the revolutionary base period, and provide valuable spiritual wealth for promoting the revolutionary spirit of the Central Judicial People's Commissariat—fearless in the face of difficulties, hardworking, and bold in innovation—to continuously improve the level of judicial administrative work.

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Former Site of the Central Education People's Commissariat of the Chinese Soviet Republic

Former Site of the Lenin Primary School of the Chinese Soviet Republic

Former Site of the Tax Bureau of the Chinese Soviet Republic

Former Site of the National Bank of the Chinese Soviet Republic

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