Dahu Ping Ancient Village

Dahu Ping Ancient Village

Huping Township is located in the southwestern part of Le’an County, bordering Zhaoxian Town to the east, Nanjing Township of Yongfeng County to the south, Wanchong Town and Luobei Township to the west, and Niutian Town to the north. It is 49 kilometers away from the county seat. The government seat, Dahu Ping Ancient Village, is the largest settlement of the Wang surname in the city and a typical traditional Chinese village. The ancient village natural village administers four village committees (Xitou, Dongshan, Hanshang, and Jieshang), with a total of 2,267 households and a population of 10,086. The ancient village was established during the Yongxi era of the Northern Song Dynasty (985 AD). Over the past thousand years, the village has continuously evolved and developed, experiencing both rise and decline, with notable figures and profound historical culture shining together, resembling a pearl on the Gan-Fu Plain, radiating brilliant light. At its founding, the ancestors of the Wang clan laid out the village’s drainage system along three streams, gradually forming the basic “trident” layout that has been preserved to this day, showcasing the most primitive appearance. The ancient village currently has nearly 200 traditional buildings, including 98 well-preserved Ming and Qing dynasty structures. Clusters of ancient architecture, reflected in rows of ponds, possess a distinctly classical charm and grandeur, all testifying to Huping’s long history and rich cultural heritage. In 2012, the ancient village was designated as a fourth batch “Historical and Cultural Village” by the Jiangxi Provincial People’s Government and included in the first batch of Traditional Chinese Village Protection Villages by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.

Most of the ancient buildings preserved in the village were built during various periods of the Qing Dynasty. There are three provincial-level cultural relics protection units and ten county-level cultural relics protection units, retaining an enduring sense of ancient charm. Among the existing traditional buildings, there are both individual structures and architectural complexes, mainly including residences, ancestral halls, academies, memorial archways, temples, and stages. They vary in size, with ancestral halls being the largest, among which the Guobao Ancestral Hall is the most representative. This hall is connected and interconnected with two other nearby ancestral halls, covering a total area of over 4,000 square meters, making its scale and preservation level among the top in the city. Another uniquely distinctive type of ancient building in the village is the memorial archways. These archways not only reflect the long history and flourishing culture of the Wang clan in Huping but also serve to immerse generations of villagers, deeply influenced by culture, inspired by achievements and filial piety. Among these archways, many ancient “imperial edicts” are preserved, holding significant historical research value, and their quantity is unparalleled across the entire county.

In the 1930s, Huping became a place of shifting power between the “Red” and “White” regimes, a time of dramatic change. From May to July 1933, under the command of Zhou Enlai, the Political Commissar of the First Front Army of the Red Army, and Zhu De, the Commander-in-Chief, the Third Red Army Corps was ordered to be stationed in Huping, Le’an, while the Fifth Red Army Corps was stationed in Shanhe, Le’an, for reorganization. This event is historically known as the “Dahu Ping Reorganization.” Zhu De accompanied the headquarters of the First Front Army to Shanhe, while Zhou Enlai accompanied the headquarters of the Third Red Army Corps to Huping. The Guobao Ancestral Hall, Zixiang Ancestral Hall in Huping, and the Anxia Ancestral Hall in Shanhe served as key bases and activity sites for the Red Army. Here, the First Front Army established the “Eastern Army,” held an Eastward Expedition Oath-taking Assembly, and Peng Dehuai, the commander of the Eastern Army and concurrently commander of the Third Red Army Corps, conveyed directives for the Eastward Expedition such as “raising one million funds, turning a thousand miles red,” and “planting the red flag in Fujian.” Zhou Enlai, the Political Commissar of the First Front Army, delivered a mobilization speech at the assembly. The “Dahu Ping Reorganization” is a major historical event in the history of the Chinese Communist Party and the military, and it remains a profoundly significant chapter in the history of Huping. On November 19, 1985, Gan Weihan, Deputy Director of the General Political Department of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, Secretary of the Central Military Commission Discipline Inspection Committee, and member of the Central Advisory Commission, visited Le’an and specifically went to Huping for inspection. On May 20, 1999, Zhang Zhen, former Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, also visited Huping. Recalling the past turbulent years during their revisit, they were filled with emotion and extended warm greetings to the villagers of Huping.

Huping Township: Huping Township is situated in the southwestern part of Le’an County, 49 kilometers from the county seat. The township covers a total area of 98 square kilometers, comprising 10 village committees, 57 village groups, 87 natural villages, 4,306 households, and 18,160 people, including 17,289 agricultural residents and 871 non-agricultural residents. The township government seat is a large village with over a thousand households, with a population of more than 8,000. The township has a total of 20,750 mu of arable land, including 20,046 mu of paddy fields and 704 mu of dry land. The total forested area is 88,335 mu, including over 5,000 mu of bamboo forests and 15,200 mu of fir forests. … Huping Township detailed information++