Jiangxi Provincial Fire Education Museum

Jiangxi Provincial Fire Education Museum

The Jiangxi Provincial Fire Education Museum serves as a science education base.

The Jiangxi Provincial Fire Education Museum is located in the Honggutan New District of Nanchang City. Spanning two floors with a construction area of 1,356 square meters, it is divided into four main sections: the Preface Hall, the Century of Firefighting Exhibition Hall, the Honors Hall, and the Fire Safety Science Education and Experience Hall. It includes functional areas such as comprehensive fire safety inquiries, displays of new firefighting products, high-rise building escape games, and fire evacuation experiences.

As the only specialized venue in Jiangxi Province that reflects the century-long development of firefighting in the region, showcases the distinctive features of the Jiangxi firefighting forces, and integrates fire safety education and experience with the exhibition of firefighting relics and historical materials, the Jiangxi Provincial Fire Education Museum has always maintained a low-profile and mysterious presence. From November 3 to 5, when reporters stepped into the Jiangxi Fire Education Museum, they were captivated by the firefighting relics on display: fire hoses and helmets from the Qing Dynasty, well-preserved archival documents, and lifelike sculptures of firefighters that vividly portray the century-long firefighting history of Jiangxi. Meanwhile, digitally rendered three-dimensional and virtual reality simulations of smoke-filled, realistic fires seemed to transport the reporters into a world of disaster and rescue.

Nanchang, the provincial capital of Jiangxi, has long been known as the "City of Fire." During the Guangxu era, Nanchang implemented the Huojia system. In the late Qing Dynasty, China began to establish a new form of firefighting organization—the fire police. China’s earliest fire police force was established in Tianjin in 1902. Jiangxi Province’s earliest fire police were set up in 1911. The following year in October, the Jiangxi Patrol Police Department was renamed the Police Supervision Bureau, which included a section responsible for firefighting in Nanchang—this marked the first government-run firefighting organization in the province.

In the early years of the Republic of China, the policing institutions in Jiangxi underwent frequent changes, but the firefighting organization in Nanchang remained intact, located at Zongzhenpo. During this period, there were numerous private firefighting organizations in Jiangxi. Most towns and cities at the county level and above had privately run firefighting groups organized by local chambers of commerce, such as the Nanchang Chamber of Commerce Fire Brigade, Ganzhou Security Fire Brigade, Linchuan Tanggu Fire Rescue Group, Yushan Chamber of Commerce Volunteer Fire Brigade, and Yichun County Chamber of Commerce Fire Brigade.

In 1978, the number of public security fire battalions in Jiangxi Province increased to 97, making it the first province in the country where every county had its own fire battalion.

The past 30 years of reform and opening-up have been a period of rapid development and remarkable achievements for the firefighting industry in Jiangxi Province. From being incorporated into the People's Armed Police force in 1983 to the establishment of the Jiangxi Provincial Fire Brigade of the People's Armed Police in 1986, the firefighting forces across the province have evolved into a militarized, professional, active-duty unit under the leadership of the public security authorities. They are tasked with fire prevention and suppression, emergency rescue, and counter-terrorism operations across the province, effectively safeguarding the lives, property, and national security, while also supporting and promoting the rapid socio-economic development of the region. Today, the Jiangxi Provincial Public Security Fire Brigade boasts a range of advanced “high-tech, precision, and specialized” firefighting equipment, including “80-meter aerial ladder fire trucks” and “firefighting robots.” The brigade has also seen the emergence of several nationally recognized exemplary units, such as the Jinggangshan Model Fire Brigade, the Ruijin City Public Security Fire Brigade hailed as the “National Grassroots Construction Model Unit,” the Zhangshu City Public Security Fire Brigade known as the “First Dragon of the Chinese Police Force,” and the Nanchang City Public Security Fire Brigade Special Operations Unit, recognized as the “Model Unit.”

A Sculpture Group Interprets the Patriotic and People-Centered Spirit of Jiangxi’s Firefighting Forces

Upon entering the Preface Hall on the first floor of the Fire Museum, the first thing visitors see is a group of bas-reliefs. These reliefs incorporate typical architecture from significant historical events and depict, from left to right, the Nanchang Uprising, the Jinggangshan Meeting, the Red Government in Ruijin, and the Tengwang Pavilion. The public security firefighting forces of Jiangxi are the inheritors of this proud revolutionary tradition and spirit.

In front of the reliefs is a group of vividly sculpted figures. In one scene, firefighters are removing a beehive from a resident's roof, while an elderly woman tends to a firefighter stung by bees, applying medicine to his injury. A child tugs at an adult’s clothing, curiously watching the firefighters—this moment fully illustrates the deep bond between firefighters and the public. Another scene portrays firefighters battling floods and rescuing supplies for residents. Museum staff explain that this sculpture group offers visitors an intuitive understanding of firefighters and embodies the Jiangxi firefighting spirit of “following the Party’s command, serving the people with patriotism,” as well as “braving danger and striving for victory.”

A Late Qing Dynasty Fire Hose Bears Witness to a Century of Firefighting History

In a prominent position in the first-floor exhibition hall sits a Qing Dynasty fire hose. According to museum staff, this fire hose is a firefighting tool from the late Qing Dynasty, collected in December 2007 from a rural area in Wuyuan County, Shangrao City, and is over 100 years old.

Historically, Wuyuan in Jiangxi was a bustling hub of merchants and economic prosperity, and local residents had a particularly strong awareness of fire prevention. Many villages either funded fire hoses through wealthy merchants or pooled resources from residents. Notably, in 1911, Zhan Tianyou, a renowned railway engineer of the time who served as the General Manager and Chief Engineer of the Canton–Hankow Railway, learned from the Wuyuan Fellow Townsmen Association in Guangzhou that his hometown had suffered a fire that destroyed many houses. He then ordered “fire hoses” and several steel fire hoses from the Wing Lung Company in Guangzhou and donated them to the Chakou Village in his hometown of Wuyuan. This “fire hose” is still preserved in his hometown today. At the entrance of Hongguan Village in Zheyuan Township, Wuyuan County, there stands a “Dragon Locking House” that houses a “fire hose” over 140 years old. This fire hose played a crucial role in extinguishing a residential fire in 2006 and is now regarded as a sacred relic by local residents. It is understood that this artifact is one of the important collections of the Jiangxi Provincial Fire Education Museum.