Former Trading Office of the Jiangkou Trade Sub-bureau

Former Trading Office of the Jiangkou Trade Sub-bureau

The former trading office of the Jiangkou Trade Sub-bureau is a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangxi Province.

The former trading office of the Jiangkou Trade Sub-bureau is located in Group 2, Jiangkoutang, Jiangkou Town, Gan County, Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province, approximately 22 kilometers northeast of the county seat. It is a building from the late Qing Dynasty to the Republican era. Oriented northwest to southeast, it features a brick-and-wood structure, measuring 12.4 meters in width and 15.8 meters in depth, covering an area of 195.92 square meters. There are three large docks outside the courtyard gate. Both the houses and the surrounding market area are well preserved. The original cobblestone-paved streets once led directly to Jiangkou Market, though most have now been replaced with concrete, with only the port street retaining its cobblestone surface. During the Soviet Area period, Jiangkou Port served as a hub for the distribution and transit of goods for both internal and external trade within the Central Soviet Area. In the spring of 1932, over 100 vessels operated daily on the Gong River, with Jiangkou as their endpoint.

In April 1933, in order to break the economic blockade imposed by the enemy on the Central Soviet Area, the National Economic People's Commission of the Chinese Soviet Government decided to establish foreign trade sub-bureaus in various locations including Jiangkou in Gan County, Luanshi Market in Huichang, Siaxia in Ji'an, and Tingzhou in Fujian. At that time, Jiangkou was a key hub for the distribution and transit of goods involved in both internal and external trade (referring to commercial activities with areas under Kuomintang control) within the Central Soviet Area. Through this port, the Jiangkou Trade Sub-bureau organized imports and exports with areas under Kuomintang control, exporting local specialty products from the Soviet Area and importing large quantities of much-needed supplies to meet the demands of the Soviet Area’s military and civilian population. To strengthen ties with merchants in non-Soviet areas, the Ganjiang Office was established in the same year to covertly develop party organizations and trade networks in these regions, as well as to secretly procure urgently needed supplies for the Soviet Area. The trade sub-bureau also found ways to operate within Ganzhou City, successfully engaging with local merchants and achieving notable results. Over the course of a little more than a year of operation, the Jiangkou Trade Sub-bureau saw monthly transaction volumes ranging from a minimum of 600,000 yuan to a peak of over 1.5 million yuan.

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Jiangxi Province