West Henan Revolutionary Memorial Hall

West Henan Revolutionary Memorial Hall

The West Henan Revolutionary Memorial Hall is a classic red tourism destination and a patriotic education base.

The West Henan Revolutionary Memorial Hall (the former site of the Yu-Shaan-E Front and Rear Work Committee) is located in the middle section of Laocheng Street, Lushan County, west of the county party committee compound. The building of the memorial hall was first constructed in 1891. At that time, some Norwegian Christian missionaries came to Lushan to preach and built a church adjacent to the southwest of this building, naming it the “Gospel Church.” This building served as an auxiliary structure where pastors and missionaries resided, and was commonly referred to as the “Pastor’s Building.” The structure is made of brick and wood, featuring Western European architectural style, and was the most beautiful building in Lushan at the time. When Lushan was liberated in 1947, the missionaries left. The site became the residence of the leaders of the Yu-Shaan-E Rear Work Committee. The Gospel Church became the venue for meetings held by the leadership. In 1948, following instructions from the Party Central Committee, the Liu-Deng Army moved out of the Dabie Mountains toward West Henan and arrived in the areas of Ye County, Lushan County, and Baofeng County in mid-April, where they joined forces with the Chen-Xie Corps. Deng Xiaoping visited Lushan for the first time and stayed here for over half a month. On all subsequent visits to Lushan, he lodged here.

Lushan is a veteran revolutionary base area. As early as 1928, the Chinese Communist Party planted the seeds of revolution here. In 1929, the Lushan Special Branch of the CCP was established, launching an indomitable struggle against imperialism, bureaucratism, and feudalism. The Red Third Army and the Red Twenty-Fifth Army left their glorious footprints during the Long March here. During the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Henan Provincial Committee of the CCP, the Henan Military District, and the Henan People's Anti-Japanese Army established anti-Japanese bases here and set up anti-Japanese democratic governments. During the Liberation War, the party, government, and military leadership organs of the Yu-Shaan-E Border Region and the West Henan Region were successively established here. For a time, it became the political, economic, and cultural center of the Yu-Shaan-E Border Region and the West Henan Region. Leaders such as Deng Xiaoping, Liu Bocheng, and Chen Yi of the Central Plains Bureau, the Central Plains Military Region, and the Central Plains Field Army presided over numerous important meetings here, leaving behind glorious footprints. In 1994, it was designated as a revolutionary base area by the state. In September 2001, the Lushan County Committee of the CCP decided to protect the Pastor’s Building as a revolutionary heritage site. On April 15, 2002, the Publicity Department of the Pingdingshan Municipal Committee of the CCP and other relevant departments approved the establishment of a patriotic education base here. In 2003, the county committee arranged for the renovation of the Pastor’s Building and its exhibition layout according to the content of a memorial hall. In February 2004, Liu Huaqing, former Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the CCP, upon learning of this, gladly inscribed the name “West Henan Revolutionary Memorial Hall,” which became the official name of the museum.

A bronze bust of Deng Xiaoping from the Liberation War period is placed in front of the memorial hall building. The hall houses eight exhibition rooms, displaying nearly 800 precious photographs, over 70,000 words of text, and hundreds of physical objects. These mainly include an introduction to Deng Xiaoping’s life, the route of the Red Twenty-Fifth Army’s Long March through Lushan, early revolutionary activities in Lushan, as well as photographs, physical objects, textual materials, and “sand tables” related to major events during the War of Resistance Against Japan and the Liberation War.

Opening hours: Summer — 8:30 AM – 12:00 PM, 3:00 PM – 5:30 PM

Winter — 8:30 AM – 12:00 PM, 2:30 PM – 5:30 PM