Shi Jiazhai Cave Dwellings Folk Culture Park

Shi Jiazhai Cave Dwellings Folk Culture Park

Shi Jiazhai Cave Dwellings Folk Culture Park is located 20 kilometers northeast of Fuping County. During the Anti-Japanese War, it served as the headquarters for the party, government, and military leadership of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Border Region and the Jizhong-Jin Border Region (later renamed the North Mountain Region). The rows of cave dwellings scattered across the hillsides of Shi Jiazhai and nearby villages were the former sites of the border region’s administrative offices. In the autumn of 1943, Japanese forces carried out a three-month “major mopping-up” campaign in Fuping County, destroying numerous houses. Faced with an extreme housing shortage, the leadership of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Border Region, inspired by the spirit of Yan’an, took the initiative to dig their own cave dwellings to live in. Local residents also actively participated. Starting in January 1944, and over the course of two months, most of the caves were largely completed. After moving in, the offices continued digging until the victory of the war. Most of the caves are earthen, with a small number being stone-built. They are over two meters high, around three meters deep, and feature wooden doors and windows. There are also some adobe vaulted caves that look like rows of bungalows from the outside but have arched roofs inside and no wooden materials.

On the western hillside of Shi Jiazhai Village, there are eight stone cave dwellings, which served as the headquarters of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Sub-Bureau. Deputy Secretary Cheng Zihua and the Secretary-General –

lived here. Two li downhill from Shi Jiazhai Village, at Cao Gou, there are 14 earthen cave dwellings, which were the site of the Border Region Anti-Japanese League Committee. Across from Shi Jiazhai Village, on the eastern side of Yaozi River in Da Donggou, there are 15 cave dwellings and a row of simple bungalows, which served as the headquarters of the Border Region –. In Da Donggou of Jia Bei Village, there are 20 earthen caves, which were the offices of the Border Region Urban Work Department. In Wai Bo Zi Gou of Jia Bei Village, there are 80 caves, which were the headquarters of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Border Region Government, where Director Song Shao Wen and Deputy Director Zhang Su also resided. The border region government stayed here for over a year before relocating to Zhangjiakou City. The All-Border Region Model Workers Conference was held here from the end of 1944 to early 1945. In the winter of 1947, the Land Reform and Party Rectification Conference of the Border Region was also convened here, with –, –, Nie Rongzhen, and others attending and staying in these caves. Hei Zao Shu Gou in Jia Bei Village served as the kitchen for the Border Region Government. Between Hei Zao Shu Gou and Wai Bo Zi Gou, a tunnel-like mountain cave was dug, serving both as an air-raid shelter and a passage to the kitchen. In Tai Ping Zhuang, Jia Bei Village, ten simple bungalows were built to serve as the “Grand Auditorium” of the Border Region—the largest building at the time. In Er Shi Mu Di, Jia Bei Village, there are over 30 earthen and stone cave dwellings, which were the offices of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Border Region High Court, where President Wang Peiran also resided. On the western loess ridge of Miao’er Tai Village, there are over 100 earthen cave dwellings, which were the headquarters of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region Command and Political Department. At the time, Nie Rongzhen had gone to Yan’an, and Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region Chief of Staff – resided here. In Da Jiao Chang of Miao’er Tai Village, there are 10 cave dwellings, 25 in Hou Gou, and 6 in San Mu Di—these three locations served as the Border Region Guesthouses, often hosting international guests. At Shang Bei Tou An (the entrance to He’er Yu Gou) in Miao’er Tai Village, there are over 100 adobe vaulted caves in two rows, which were the site of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Border Region Party School. In Shang He’er Yu Gou of Miao’er Tai Village, in Dang Jia Gou and Zou Dao Gou, there are over 30 cave dwellings where the Border Region Transport Team (also known as the County Mule Team) once stayed. Five li west of Shi Jiazhai Village, in Lei Bao Village, there are over 30 cave dwellings, which were the offices of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Daily, where Editor-in-Chief Deng Tuo worked and edited China’s first edition of Selected Works of Mao Zedong. In Hong Tu Shan Village, there are 20 cave dwellings and several vaulted caves. In Huai Shu Zhuang Village, at Da Jiao Shan, there are over 20 cave dwellings, and in Pu Tao An and Yang Gou, there are four cave dwellings—these locations were all affiliated units of the newspaper. From Lei Bao Village to Da Donggou in Shi Jiazhai, spanning eight li east-west, and from Hong Tu Shan Village to Xia Cao Gou in Shi Jiazhai, spanning six li north-south, within a nearly 50-square-li area, 400+ stone cave dwellings and 100+ adobe vaulted caves were dug across 17 valleys in six villages: Shi Jiazhai, Lei Bao, Miao’er Tai, Jia Bei, Huai Shu Zhuang, and Hong Tu Shan. In 1983, the Fuping County People’s Government designated the Shi Jiazhai Cave Cluster as a county-level cultural heritage protection unit.

Today, the area surrounding the Shi Jiazhai Cave Cluster boasts beautiful and pleasant natural scenery, ideal for enjoying mountain views in all seasons. The hillsides feature a sightseeing orchard of over a thousand acres, with diverse varieties such as peach and apple trees, which bear abundant fruit during harvest season. The entire mountain forest enjoys well-preserved ecological conditions. Leveraging the cave cluster as a foundation, the entire woodland area has been developed into an integrated destination that combines ecological sightseeing, leisure, red culture tourism, and a landscape characterized by fruits and forests.