Xufan Revolutionary Site Cluster

Xufan Revolutionary Site Cluster

The Xufan Revolutionary Site Cluster is a protected cultural heritage site of Henan Province and a classic red tourism destination.

A national-level red tourism attraction and provincial cultural heritage site—The Xufan Revolutionary Site Cluster of the Eyuwan Revolutionary Base is located in Guanweizi Village, Yanhe Township, approximately 30 kilometers southwest of Guangshan County, Henan Province. It is part of the nationally significant Eyuwan Revolutionary Site Cluster, which is a key cultural relic protection unit.

The site cluster covers an area of about 1 square kilometer and includes 25 cultural heritage sites, 367 preserved houses, over 2,000 meters of preserved fortress walls, and overall architecture that faces west with its back to the east, consisting of seven courtyards in sequence. Originally, fortress walls were built around the site, with moats outside, watchtowers at the four corners, gates on all sides, and a bridge at each gate. Parts of the fortress towers, walls, and drawbridges have now collapsed. By the late Ming Dynasty, Xufan had already been fortified into a stronghold, serving as the estate of the Xu family landlords. The residential buildings were all constructed with brick and wood structures. The architectural layout was centered around a core area, facing outward in all directions, with interconnected homes and passageways between households, showcasing distinctive local architectural features.

In January 1931, Gao Jingting, then Secretary of the Guangshan County Committee of the Communist Party of China, led a portion of the Guangshan Independent Regiment and over a thousand members of the Guangshan Red Guards in laying siege to Xufan. At that time, the fortress owner Xu Zuochen commanded over 300 reactionary troops, including militias, the Red Learning Society, and the Yellow Learning Society, relying on the high fortress walls, deep moats, and solid watchtowers to resist fiercely. By early February, under the command of Gao Jingting, the Guangshan Independent Regiment launched a fierce assault and breached the fortress, annihilating over 300 militiamen under Xu Zuochen and capturing more than 40 reactionary gentry. Xufan returned to the hands of the people. Subsequently, the Organization Department, Propaganda Department, Party School, and Security Bureau of the Eyuwan Provincial Committee of the CPC, as well as the Provincial Revolutionary Tribunal, the Headquarters of the Fourth Red Army, training institutes, and the Lenin Primary School, were successively relocated to Xufan. The Guangshan County Committee and the County Soviet Government also moved there. Leaders such as Xu Jishen, Xu Xiangqian, Cheng Fangwu, Wu Huanxian, Xu Haidong, and Gao Jingting all lived and worked here at various times.

The Red Army built barracks on their own in Xufan, led efforts in organizing the peasant movement, held cadre training classes and peasant night schools to strengthen the training of worker and peasant cadres, and organized propaganda teams of the Peasant Association. Using various art forms close to the lives of peasants, they promoted the Party’s policies and the land revolution. Xufan became the political, military, and cultural center of the Eyuwan Soviet Area at that time.

In October 1931, Zhang Guotao implemented the expanded “purge” campaign, and Xufan became one of the hardest-hit areas. A special tribunal and prison were established here to detain Red Army soldiers, subjecting them to brutal suppression and merciless persecution. Nearly a thousand outstanding sons and daughters of the Party were wrongfully killed here. In September 1932, following the failure of the fourth counter-“encirclement and suppression” campaign, the Eyuwan Provincial Committee moved to Xinji in Guangshan County. As one of the political centers of the Eyuwan Revolutionary Base for nearly two years, every household in Xufan had hosted Red Army soldiers, and every home had supported the revolution. It was truly a red fortress and earned the reputation of being the “Red Capital.”

Today, the self-built Red Army barracks within the site cluster, the Eyuwan Political Security Bureau, the Eyuwan Provincial Committee Organization Department, Propaganda Department, Party School, Peasant Association Propaganda Team, as well as the former residences of Xu Xiangqian, Xu Haidong, Dai Jiyin, and the Red Army Well, are all preserved and open to the public. There is also an exhibition titled “Exhibition on the Revolutionary History of Xufan During the Land Revolution Period,” which details the arduous struggle history of Xufan. It serves as an ideal place for revolutionary tradition education, experiencing Red Army life, and learning about folk customs and ancient architecture.

In 2005, as the country vigorously promoted the development of red tourism, the Xufan Revolutionary Site Cluster was included in the national red tourism development project. In 2006, it was designated as a provincial cultural heritage site by the provincial government. It is now a patriotic education base.

Yanhe Township: Located 23 kilometers southwest of Guangshan County, Yanhe Township is separated from Pohetown to the east by a river, borders Tian Township of Xin County to the south, and neighbors Wenshu to the west and north. The township administers 15 administrative villages (streets), 269 villager groups, and has a population of 36,100. It has 28 grassroots Party branches with a total of 881 Party members. The total area is 93 square kilometers, including 31,000 mu of cultivated land, 66,000 mu of mountainous and forested land (including 9,500 mu of tea plantations), 2,000 mu of water areas suitable for fishing, 9 small Type II reservoirs, and 8 electric pumping stations. The total length of rural roads accessible in all weather conditions is 129.3 kilometers. The township’s annual… Yanhe Township detailed information++