Birthplace of the July 7th Work Group

Birthplace of the July 7th Work Group

The Birthplace of the July 7th Work Group is a cultural relic protection unit of Henan Province and a patriotic education base.

The "Birthplace of the July 7th Work Group" is situated at No. 53 Xinhua Street, Chengguan Town, Tongbai County, at 32°01'07" N latitude and 113°00'00" E longitude. It was originally part of a Ming Dynasty architectural complex.

This memorial site was originally the Confucian Temple of Tongbai County, used to worship Confucius before the Qing Dynasty and as an examination hall during the imperial examination period. It was first built in the Song Dynasty and rebuilt during the Chenghua reign of the Ming Dynasty, with subsequent renovations carried out in the 42nd year of the Qianlong reign in the Qing Dynasty and again in 1992. According to the Tongbai County Annals, the complete architectural layout of the Tongbai County Confucian Temple included a screen wall, memorial archway, Zhuangyuan Bridge, Pan Pond, Dacheng Hall, and east and west wing rooms. Due to damage during the Cultural Revolution, only three structures remain today—the Dacheng Hall and the east and west wing rooms—as well as two ancient trees known as the "Han Dynasty Ironwood Cypresses," which stand in front of the temple’s platform and are over a thousand years old. The "July 7th Work Group" was established on September 16, 1938, within this Confucian Temple. This revolutionary armed group was commanded by Comrade Zhu Dapeng, who served as the education officer of the Nationalist Party's 77th Army Officer Training Corps at the time. During its nearly one-year presence in Tongbai, the "July 7th Work Group" successively organized revolutionary groups such as the "Youth Training Class" and the "Farmers’ Training Class," growing its ranks to over 1,250 members. Following instructions from the Henan Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, the troops were dispatched in batches to Sixing Mountain and handed over to Comrade Li Xiannian, becoming a key component of the Henan-Hubei Advance Detachment. Many veteran proletarian revolutionaries of our Party, such as Li Xiannian, Wang Zhen, and Chen Shaomin, once lived here.

After the liberation of Tongbai in 1942, the "Tongbai County People’s Education Hall" was established on this site. In 1950, it was renamed the "Tongbai County People’s Cultural Hall," and was later occupied by various entities including the "Tongbai County Sports Commission," "County Culture Bureau," "Library," and "Tongbai County Cultural Relics Management Committee." In 1994, after deliberation by the leadership of the Tongbai County Party Committee and County Government, it was decided to establish the "July 7th Work Group Birthplace Revolutionary Memorial Site" here. This serves as a vivid, direct, and tangible educational resource for the general public, especially young people, to promote patriotic education and transform the site into an ideal platform for patriotic education outreach.

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Henan Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units