Former Site of the Central Committee Hubei-Henan-Anhui Sub-bureau and Provincial Committee

Former Site of the Central Committee Hubei-Henan-Anhui Sub-bureau and Provincial Committee

The former site of the Central Committee Hubei-Henan-Anhui Sub-bureau and Provincial Committee is a classic red tourism attraction and a patriotic education base.

The former site of the Central Committee Hubei-Henan-Anhui Sub-bureau and Provincial Committee is an important part of the historic site cluster of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Revolutionary Base. In 1988, it was designated as a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit by the State Council, and it also features the typical architectural style of Xinxian County residences.

The site is situated at No. 27 Shoufu Road in downtown Xinxian, facing west with its back to Shengchan Street. It comprises 50 late Qing Dynasty brick-and-wood residential buildings in 0-style, arranged in five rows of seven rooms each, plus 15 other rooms. The complex spans 90 meters from east to west and 22 meters from north to south, covering a total area of 1,980 square meters.

Originally, the site was the private residence of Liu Yiwu, a major landlord in Xinji. Due to street widening, the first row of the original site was demolished, and the second row was subsequently restored to match the style of the first.

The entire structure is compactly designed, with symmetrical courtyards, wide eaves, a spacious and bright interior, and a serene, tranquil atmosphere. The entrance features a gatehouse-style door, above which hangs a plaque inscribed with “Former Site of the Central Committee Hubei-Henan-Anhui Sub-bureau,” written by Comrade Xu Xiangqian in April 1980. The top of the building has decorative floral-tile ridges, with swallowtail gables at both ends, and a pair of stone drum doorsteps in front. The adjacent street-facing walls feature five pairs of patterned lattice windows, while a central corridor divides the building into northern and southern sections. Entering through the gatehouse into the corridor, there is a wooden partition door leading to a small rectangular courtyard. The corridor is flanked by houses that form four small square courtyards each, with stone-paved floors and surrounded by corridors. The original eave pillars were inlaid with exquisitely carved floral brackets.

In February 1931, Xinji was liberated, and on May 12, the Central Committee Hubei-Henan-Anhui Sub-bureau was officially established in Xinji. The sub-bureau reported directly to the Central Political Bureau, wielding authority on behalf of the Central Committee and ranking higher than the provincial committee. The sub-bureau had eleven members: eight appointed by the Central Committee—namely, Zhang Guotao, Chen Changhao, Shen Zemin, Zeng Zhongsheng, Wang Pingzhang, Cai Shenxi, Shu Chuanxian, and Kuang Jixun—and three elected later: Zhou Chunquan, Guo Shushen, and Gao Jingting. There were also fifteen alternate members, including Gan Yuanjing.

The sub-bureau functioned both as the Central Committee’s representative body and the highest leadership organization of the Party in the Hubei-Henan-Anhui region. Given the inefficiencies of this arrangement, the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Provincial Committee was formed in accordance with the "Central Committee Resolution on the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Provincial Committee." Shen Zemin served as the committee secretary, Gao Jingting as head of the Organization Department, and Cheng Fangwu as head of the Propaganda Department. Other standing committee members included Zheng Weisan, Wang Youqing (female), Geng Xianyi, and six others.

The southern three rooms of the first row housed Cheng Fangwu’s office and living quarters, while the northern three rooms were used by Chen Changhao. The southern three rooms of the second row were occupied by Shen Zemin, and the northern three by Guo Shushen.

After the establishment of the sub-bureau and provincial committee, they led the people of Hubei-Henan-Anhui to achieve successive military victories, crushing the enemy’s first, second, and third “encirclement and suppression” campaigns. Meanwhile, the construction of Soviet governance, economic and cultural development, and the land revolution movement also expanded widely.

In the summer of 1932, the Kuomintang mobilized heavy forces to launch a large-scale fourth “encirclement and suppression” campaign against Hubei-Henan-Anhui. During the counter-campaign, due to Zhang Guotao’s leftist adventurism, the fourth counter-encirclement effort failed, and Xinji fell on September 9, 1932. The Hubei-Henan-Anhui Sub-bureau relocated with the Fourth Red Army. The original offices of the sub-bureau, the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Provincial Committee, the Organization Department, the Propaganda Department, the Women’s Department, the Young Communist League Sub-bureau, and the living quarters and daily necessities of some leaders remain well-preserved to this day.

After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the site was successively occupied by the families of cadres from the Xinxian County Military Service Bureau, Finance Bureau, and Tax Bureau. In 1979, the provincial cultural relics bureau allocated special funds for a comprehensive restoration of the site, returning it to its original appearance.