Former Training Site of New Recruits for the Autumn Harvest Uprising Troops (Wuqu Palace)

Former Training Site of New Recruits for the Autumn Harvest Uprising Troops (Wuqu Palace)

The former training site of new recruits for the Autumn Harvest Uprising troops (Wuqu Palace) is a classic red tourism attraction.

Wuqu Palace — the former training site for new recruits of the Autumn Harvest Uprising troops on the Hunan-Jiangxi border

The former site of the training base for new recruits of the Autumn Harvest Uprising troops on the Hunan-Jiangxi border — Wuqu Palace is located in the Pingfeng Group, Jiangtou Village, Yongning Town, Tonggu County. Built during the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, it is a structure made of wood and earth, with the overall building divided into three sections: front, middle, and rear. There is a large drill ground between the front buildings. The current site covers an area of 1,200 square meters.

Wuqu Palace and Kuiguang Academy were once twin educational institutions jointly funded by dozens of Hakka families in Tonggu to cultivate talents in both literature and martial arts. Wuqu Palace was the place for martial arts training, and it is the only and earliest martial arts training hall in the history of Tonggu. The five martial arts scholars (wu jinshi) and over 50 martial arts candidates (wu juren) from the Hakka community in Tonggu during the Qing Dynasty all passed the imperial examinations after training here. A community school called “Chongguang Hall” was also established here. Starting from the sixth year of the Republic of China (1917), the Hakka people in Tonggu also founded the “Juku Girls’ Vocational School (Category B),” pioneering women’s vocational education.

In 1927, during Mao Zedong’s personal leadership of the Autumn Harvest Uprising in Tonggu, Wuqu Palace served as the garrison for the uprising troops and was where the first “New Recruit Training Center” in the history of the Chinese military was established. It specialized in training new recruits and soldiers who lacked military skills, with instructors including General Chen Bojun and martyr Zhang Ziqing, commander of the 31st Regiment of the Fourth Red Army.

From autumn 1928 to 1930, Peng Dehuai led the Fifth Red Army in battles around Tonggu and stationed here multiple times.

Wuqu Palace carries deep cultural imprints of red culture, Hakka culture, and Guan Yu worship. Having withstood over two hundred years of vicissitudes, it is an important revolutionary heritage site. The county government has listed it as a key protected site.

Jiangtou Village: Jiangtou Village...... More details about Jiangtou Village++

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of Jiangxi Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units