Former Site of the Hubei-Henan Border Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China

Former Site of the Hubei-Henan Border Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China

The Former Site of the Hubei-Henan Border Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China is a classic red tourism destination and a patriotic education base.

The Hubei-Henan Border Revolutionary Memorial Hall was the base of the Hubei-Henan Border Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Red Army guerrilla forces during the three-year guerrilla war. The Hubei-Henan Border Revolutionary Guerrilla Base Area, established with this location as its center (also known as the Tongbai Mountain Revolutionary Base), is one of the fifteen red guerrilla bases in eight southern provinces and municipalities.

In August 1935, Zhang Xingjiang, Wang Guohua, and Zhang Wangwu decided in Bidian, Tanghe to merge the party organizations of southern Henan and northern Hubei into the Hubei-Henan Border Provincial Committee. Zhang Xingjiang served as secretary, Wang Guohua as head of the Propaganda Department, and Tong Zhongyu as head of the Organization Department. Subsequently, a meeting was held in a sorghum field in Zhanglou Village, southern Wangdian, Biyang, where it was decided to restore and develop the Party organization in the border areas of Queshan, Bi, Tongbai, and Xinyang counties, carry out guerrilla warfare, and establish the Tongbai Mountain Revolutionary Base to support the struggles of other guerrilla zones in the south. The Provincial Committee’s headquarters were primarily located in Zhanglou, Wangdian Township, Dengzhuangpu, Tongshan, and Jiaozhuyuan. Later, the Committee sent representatives three times to the Northern Bureau and also to Yan’an, receiving specific guidance from Chairman Mao, Commander Zhu, and Comrade Liu Shaoqi. Commander Zhu personally met with Zhou Junming, representative of the Hubei-Henan Border Provincial Committee, and instructed, “You must vigorously expand...”

In January 1936, the Hubei-Henan Border Provincial Committee established its own armed force—the Hubei-Henan Border Red Army Guerrilla Unit, starting with seven people and three rifles, and gradually grew stronger. By early October 1937, less than three months after the outbreak of the War of Resistance, the guerrilla unit had expanded to over 400 members. In accordance with the Central Committee’s directive “On Work in the Southern Guerrilla Zones,” the Hubei-Henan Border Red Army Guerrilla Unit was reorganized into the Henan South People’s Anti-Japanese Independent Regiment, which grew to more than 600 members, comprising two battalions, six companies, one communications platoon, and one pistol team. In early 1938, following central instructions, Comrade Zhou Enlai announced the reorganization of the Henan South People’s Anti-Japanese Independent Regiment into the Eighth Regiment of the Fourth Detachment of the New Fourth Army.

In January 1938, the Hubei-Henan Border Provincial Committee relocated to Zhugou, known as the “Little Yan’an.” The Jiaozhuyuan Revolutionary Site served as the precursor to the Zhugou Revolutionary Base. After the Provincial Committee moved to Zhugou, Jiaozhuyuan functioned as a recruitment center, playing a crucial role in supporting the resistance in Central China by facilitating personnel deployment and material supply.

II: Specific Location

The Hubei-Henan Border Revolutionary Memorial Hall is located in Jiaozhuyuan Village, Tongshan Township, Biyang County. It lies 33 kilometers west of Biyang County, 55 kilometers south of Tongbai County, 52 kilometers north of Wuyang County, and 45 kilometers east of Queshan County. To the south is the Tongshan Scenic Area, with Provincial Highway S334 passing through the village and the XinYang Expressway 1,000 meters to the north. Surrounded by mountains, the village currently has a population of about 400 and serves as the seat of the Jiaozhuyuan Village Committee.

III: Current Status

The Hubei-Henan Border Revolutionary Memorial Hall includes the Jiaozhuyuan Revolutionary Site, the Hubei-Henan Border Memorial Square, and the Hubei-Henan Border Memorial Exhibition Hall. The original site buildings are Ming Dynasty structures, divided into a west courtyard, an east courtyard, and an east annex, totaling 53 tiled houses (including one building), covering a land area of 4,540.8 square meters and a construction area of 1,260 square meters. In September 2000, the Henan Provincial People’s Government designated it as a provincial-level key cultural relics protection unit under Document Yu Zheng [2000] No. 55. In November 2006, using 3 million yuan allocated in the first phase of the “China Revolutionary Old Areas Project,” the site was reconstructed and completed in August 2007. The current site is the rebuilt version. In August 2010, using another 3.2 million yuan allocated in the second phase for the construction of the square and exhibition hall, the project commenced and has since been completed. The exhibition hall utilizes modern audiovisual and high-tech methods to present the revolutionary history of the Hubei-Henan Border area and officially opened to the public on July 10, 2013. The square covers an area of 12,000 square meters and includes three white marble arched bridges connecting it to the new exhibition hall. The exhibition hall itself spans 7,367 square meters with a construction area of 1,980 square meters. The museum currently employs 18 staff members, organized into an office, social education department, exhibition department, and security department. It is open to the public free of charge.

IV: Achievements

Since its opening in 2007, the Hubei-Henan Border Revolutionary Memorial Hall has welcomed 233,000 visitors free of charge from across the country, including 185,000 young people, with nearby primary and secondary schools regularly organizing visits. In June 2009, the book “Red Jiaozhuyuan,” edited by Liu Wenchao, former executive deputy head of Biyang County, was officially published. The Hubei-Henan Border Revolutionary Memorial Hall was designated as a county-level patriotic education base by the Propaganda Department of the Biyang County Committee in January 2008. In 2010, it was designated as a municipal-level patriotic education base under Document Zhumadian Propaganda [2010] No. 54 issued by the Propaganda Department of the Zhumadian Municipal Committee. In February 2011, it was further recognized as a provincial-level patriotic education demonstration base under Document Henan Propaganda [2011] No. 10.

Address: Jiaozhuyuan Village, Tongshan Township, Biyang County, Zhumadian City, Henan Province

Postal Code: 463718

Phone: 15939602989

Fax: 0396-7922429

Opening Hours: 8:00–18:00 (open year-round)

Public Transport: Biyang County – Jiaozhuyuan Bus Route 9; Biyang County – Zhumadian City Line