Former Site of the Bai Sha Guan Peasant Uprising

Former Site of the Bai Sha Guan Peasant Uprising

The Former Site of the Bai Sha Guan Peasant Uprising is a cultural relic protection unit of Henan Province, a classic red tourism destination, and a patriotic education base.

The Former Site of the Bai Sha Guan Peasant Uprising is an important part of the historical sites of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Revolutionary Base. It is located in Bai Sha Guan Village, Dou Shan He Township, about 34 kilometers south of Xin County. Originally a mountain fortress, it is said that General Meng Gong, a Southern Song Dynasty hero who resisted the Jin invaders, once defended against the Jin troops advancing from the south at this pass. There are two fortress gates, north and south, connected by a small street about 100 meters long. The stone-built fortress walls and the southern gate have collapsed and been destroyed, leaving only partial ruins. The northern gate is a three-bay brick-and-wood structure gatehouse, with a three-bay open room upstairs, featuring three square lattice windows facing south, and a central arched fortress gate on the lower level, flanked by rooms each with a door opening to the south and equipped with stairs leading up to the upper floor. The site covers an area of 67 square meters. In June 1963, it was designated as a provincial-level key cultural relic protection unit. In 1978, the three rooms of the northern gatehouse were restored and are now well preserved.

Bai Sha Guan is located in a strategically important and easily defensible position, making it a crucial mountain pass connecting Henan and Hubei, and a longstanding military battleground. In 1928, after the establishment of the Chai Shan Bao Revolutionary Base, over a thousand reactionary landlord militias entrenched themselves at Bai Sha Guan, severely hindering the consolidation and northward expansion of the base. On July 1, 1929, under the leadership of the Guangshan County Committee and the Nan District Committee, thousands of members of revolutionary Red Spear Societies and peasants from Chai Shan Bao, Guo Jia He, and the southern part of Dou Shan, along with the 31st Division of the Red Eleventh Army, launched an attack on the reactionary landlord militias at Bai Sha Guan. Prior to the battle, CPC and Red Army leaders such as Cao Xuekai, Zheng Weisan, Xu Xiangqian, Dai Kemin, Wu Huanxian, and Wang Shusheng separately went to the rebel camps to deliver pre-battle mobilization speeches. In the early hours of July 1, the rebel forces divided into three routes and launched a fierce assault on the enemy. At the outbreak of fighting, peasants from the Luo Chong area, led by secret CPC members and key figures of the “Southern Henan Red Spear Command,” Luo Minggao and Huang Shasheng, broke through the enemy lines from within, coordinating attacks inside and out. After more than an hour of intense combat, hundreds of enemies were killed or wounded, and the remaining forces fled the pass. The uprising achieved a great victory.

On July 6, the Northeast Hubei Special Committee and the Guangshan County Committee held a mass meeting at Bai Sha Guan attended by tens of thousands. Cao Xuekai, Xu Xiangqian, and others reported on the policies regarding land revolution, establishing rural revolutionary governments, and organizing peasant militias, and announced the official founding of the Soviet Government of Xian Nan District (Chai Shan Bao region) of Guangshan County and the Peasant Red Guards. After the meeting, many in the crowd volunteered to join the army, rapidly expanding the Red Army forces.

The victory of the Bai Sha Guan Peasant Uprising greatly boosted the morale of the revolutionary soldiers and civilians, initially consolidating the revolutionary base, and played a significant role in opening up the “revolutionary corridor from Huangma and Guangshan to Luoshan, and from Shangcheng and Gushi to Lu’an,” as well as in the growth and development of the revolution in the Hubei-Henan Border Region.

Bai Sha Guan Village: Overview of Bai Sha Guan Village

Legend has it that the origin of the name “Bai Sha Guan” comes from a folk tale. In ancient times, this place was not called Bai Sha Guan but had another name. At some point in history, due to its long history and superior geographical location, officials planned to establish a government office here. However, the ancients paid attention to feng shui and earth energy, so someone suggested weighing equal volumes of soil from Bai Sha Guan and another location—wherever the soil was heavier, the office would be built. Because people from the other place used tricks and added other weighting materials to their soil sample, Bai Sha Guan lost out. Later, the simple and honest people of Bai Sha Guan learned about the failed bid... More detailed information about Bai Sha Guan++

Further Reading:

· First Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Henan Province