Bajiao Tower in Maoping

Bajiao Tower in Maoping

Bajiao Tower in Maoping is a classic red tourism site and a patriotic education base.

Bajiao Tower is located in Maoping Village, 36 kilometers from Ciping, with road access between the two. It is a two-story earthen-brick building in Maoping Village, named for its octagonal skylight. Bajiao Tower is one of the main attractions in the Maoping scenic area. Important Red Army leaders such as Mao Zedong and Chen Yi once lived here. It was also the command center of the Fourth Red Army, where many important meetings about the future of the revolution and the construction of our army were held.

Attractions here include: the Former Residence of Comrade Mao Zedong at Bajiao Tower, the Former Residence of - Comrade, the Site of the Soldiers' Committee of the Fourth Red Army of China, the Former Residence of Comrade Chen Yi, the Site of the First Congress of the Xiang-Gan Border Region, the Exhibition on the Life of Yuan Wencai, and the Maoping Red Army Martyrs' Cemetery.

In October 1927, Mao Zedong led the troops of the Autumn Harvest Uprising to Jinggangshan, where he established the first rural revolutionary base, igniting the spark of "armed agrarian revolution." At the end of April 1928, - and Chen Yi led the remaining troops of the Nanchang Uprising and the peasant army from southern Hunan to meet with Mao Zedong’s Workers’ and Peasants’ Revolutionary Army in Longshi, Ninggang. They formed the Fourth Army of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Revolutionary Army (soon renamed the Fourth Army of the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army), with - as army commander and Mao Zedong as representative and secretary of the Military Commission. In December of the same year, Peng Dehuai led the Fifth Red Army, formed from the Pingjiang Uprising troops, to meet with the Fourth Red Army in Ninggang County. The revolutionary forces on Jinggangshan grew even stronger.

The growth of the Jinggangshan revolutionary base also alarmed the - authorities. In an attempt to strangle the revolutionary base in its cradle, they launched multiple “encirclement and suppression” campaigns militarily and imposed strict blockades economically, causing shortages of clothing, ammunition, firewood, rice, oil, and salt needed by the Jinggangshan base. To sustain the long-term revolutionary war, Mao Zedong carefully managed resources and educated Red Army soldiers to conserve food and fuel. Since Jinggangshan produced only a small amount of tea oil, most of the oil had to be obtained by confiscating it from local landlords. Therefore, when Mao Zedong first arrived on Jinggangshan with his troops, he announced regulations on oil usage: each company-level office and above could use one oil lamp with three wicks while working; the lamp must be extinguished when not in use; the company headquarters could keep one lamp for duty and sentry checks, but only one wick was allowed. Throughout Jinggangshan, the entire army strictly followed this rule. Every night, as the lights-out bugle sounded, soldiers extinguished their lamps, leaving only the one lamp in the company headquarters lit.

By addressing this seemingly minor issue, Mao Zedong taught the soldiers how to be frugal and make limited supplies last longer to overcome hardships and welcome victory. At the same time, Mao Zedong led by example. Although he worked late into the night every day, he used only one wick when one was enough. It was under the dim light of such an oil lamp that Mao Zedong successively wrote famous works such as “Why Is It That Red Political Power Can Exist in China?” and “The Struggle in Jinggangshan,” systematically summarizing the experience of the Jinggangshan revolutionary struggle from both theoretical and practical perspectives, and expounding the brilliant idea of “armed agrarian revolution.”

This oil lamp accompanied Mao Zedong as he charted the only correct revolutionary path of encircling the cities from the countryside and finally seizing the cities, under extremely harsh conditions. For this reason, the oil lamp of Jinggangshan became a beacon of the revolution, guiding the Chinese people under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party to take up arms against reactionary rule and deepen the agrarian revolution in the vast darkness.

Admission Ticket

Included in the general ticket, 190 RMB

Location of the Attraction

Maoping Scenic Area, Jinggangshan

Maoping Village: Maoping Village in Maoping Township is the home of the world-famous Bajiao Tower. Located at the northern foot of Huangyangjie, it is the largest of the six administrative villages in Maoping Township, covering a land area of 13.8 square kilometers, with 13 villager groups, 256 households, and a population of 1,286.

During the Jinggangshan revolutionary struggle, Maoping was the location of the highest party, government, and military leadership organs of the Xiang-Gan border region, as well as hospitals and other logistical support institutions. It was also a major site where proletarian revolutionaries of the older generation such as Mao Zedong, Zhu De, and Chen Yi carried out revolutionary activities. As a result, many popular stories are told in Maoping… More detailed information about Maoping Village++

Jinggangshan

Huangyangjie

Ciping Scenic Area

Longtan Waterfall Group

Former Residence of Comrade Mao Zedong in Ciping

Site of the Gucheng Meeting

Tongmuling

Jinggangshan Revolutionary Sites