Former Sites of the CCP Central Plains Bureau and the Central Plains Military Region in Baofeng

Former Sites of the CCP Central Plains Bureau and the Central Plains Military Region in Baofeng

The former sites of the CCP Central Plains Bureau and the Central Plains Military Region in Baofeng are located across various towns in Baofeng County, Pingdingshan City, including Shangjiuwu Town, Zhaozhuang Town, Xiaoqi Township, Chengguan Town, Yangzhuang Town, Shiqiao Town, Qianying Township, Zhouzhuang Town, Zhangbaqiao Town, and Daying Town. In 2016, they were designated as part of the seventh batch of provincial-level cultural heritage protection units by the provincial government.

In 1947, after shifting from strategic defense to strategic offense, the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Field Army under Liu (Bocheng) and Deng (Xiaoping) made a thousand-mile leap into the Dabie Mountains. The Chen (Geng) and Xie (Fuzhi) Corps forcefully crossed the Yellow River and advanced into western Henan, while the East China Field Army under Chen (Yi) and Su (Yu) crossed the Longhai Railway to march into southern Henan, northern Anhui, and northern Jiangsu. These three forces formed a “品”-shaped deployment, maneuvering across the Yangtze, Huai, Yellow, and Han rivers, drawing in and annihilating large numbers of Kuomintang troops, rapidly liberating most of the Central Plains. In February 1948, the main force of the Liu-Deng Army moved out of the Dabie Mountains to recuperate in northern Huai. By mid-April of the same year, they advanced into western Henan, joining forces with the Chen-Xie Corps and the East China Field Army's Chen (Shiju) and Tang (Liang) Corps. Under the unified command of Liu and Deng, they carried out large-scale mobile operations.

On April 20, 1948, Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping telegraphed the CCP Central Committee and the Central Military Commission: “The jurisdiction of the Central Plains Bureau is very large, but the leadership strength is extremely weak. It is recommended to strengthen the Central Plains Bureau and establish the Central Plains Military Region.” On May 9, the CCP Central Committee and the Central Military Commission made the decision: “Apart from the existing territory of the Central China Liberated Area, all areas south of the Longhai Railway, north of the Yangtze River, and up to the Sichuan-Shaanxi border shall belong to the Central Plains Liberated Area.” They also decided to appoint Deng Xiaoping as the First Secretary of the Central Plains Bureau, Chen Yi as the Second Secretary, and Deng Zihui as the Third Secretary.

Liu Bocheng, Deng Xiaoping, Chen Yi, Deng Zihui, Li Xiannian, Song Renqiong, Su Yu, Li Xuefeng, Chen Geng, Zhang Jichun, Xie Fuzhi, and Liu Zijiu were appointed as members to re-establish the Central Plains Military Region. The former Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Field Army units under the Liu-Deng Army and the Chen-Xie Corps were renamed the Central Plains Field Army. The Central Plains Military Region and the Central Plains Field Army were commanded by Liu Bocheng as Commander-in-Chief, Deng Xiaoping as Political Commissar, Chen Yi as First Deputy Commander-in-Chief (who also retained his positions as Commander and Political Commissar of the East China Field Army), Li Xiannian as Second Deputy Commander-in-Chief, Deng Zihui and Zhang Jichun as Deputy Political Commissars (with Zhang also serving as Director of the Political Department), and Li Da as Chief of Staff.

The Central Plains Military Region and the Central Plains Field Army oversaw the western Henan, southern Henan–northern Anhui–northern Jiangsu, Jianghan, Tongbai, western Anhui, Eyu (Hubei-Henan), and Shaan-Gan-E (Shaanxi-Sichuan-Hubei) military districts (which were soon divided into western Henan and southern Shaanxi districts). They also commanded the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 9th, and 11th columns, as well as the 38th Army (later reorganized as the Shaan-Gan-E military district forces), along with the 3rd, 8th, and 10th columns of the East China Field Army’s Chen-Shi-Tang Corps, which were temporarily placed under the command of the Central Plains Field Army.

In November 1947, Baofeng was liberated and became the site of the CCP’s Fifth Sub-bureau of the Shaan-Gan-E Region, holding a highly strategic position. In line with the central directive to stabilize the command headquarters for unified coordination between the Central Plains Field Army and the East China Field Army, on May 17, 1948, the CCP Central Plains Bureau and the Central Plains Military Region relocated to Baofeng. Around the 26th, the headquarters of the Central Plains Bureau and the Central Plains Military Region settled respectively in Zhao Guanying Village northwest of the county town and Beizhangzhuang Village. From then on, Baofeng became the political, military, and cultural center of the Central Plains region at the time. Leaders of the Central Plains Bureau and the Central Plains Military Region deployed and directed key battles such as the South Wan, Kaifeng, Suiqi, Xiangfan, Zhengzhou, and Tongbai-Jianghan campaigns. They held three important meetings, issued a series of major proclamations, and established schools to train a large number of cadres and technical personnel. The Central Plains Bureau also assigned Wang Zhijie, an official from its Policy Research Office, to concurrently serve as Party Secretary of Baofeng County, using Baofeng as a key experimental county for new area policies under the guidance of Deng Zihui and Li Xuefeng, aiming to summarize experiences in new area development. At the time, troops and supplies sent from the Taiyue, Taihang, and North China liberated areas to the various Shaan-Gan-E battlefields all passed through Baofeng, making it the capital of the Central Plains Liberated Area.

In the autumn of 1948, the situation in the Central Plains underwent tremendous changes: during this period, the Central Plains Military Region eliminated over 200,000 regular Kuomintang troops and more than 100,000 local forces, dismantled the Kuomintang’s defensive system in the Central Plains, and established people’s governments at various levels below the administrative office. The financial and economic situation improved significantly, creating favorable conditions for organizing a strategic decisive battle in the Huaihai region. On October 22, the Battle of Zhengzhou was won. Leaders such as Chen Yi, Deng Xiaoping, and Liu Bocheng then went to the Huaihai front to direct operations, and the headquarters of the Central Plains Bureau and the Central Plains Military Region completely evacuated Baofeng on November 13.

Leaders such as Liu Bocheng, Deng Xiaoping, Chen Yi, Deng Zihui, Zhang Jichun, Li Xuefeng, and Li Da strategized in Baofeng, unifying the command of the Central Plains Field Army and the East China Field Army. They dismantled the Kuomintang’s defensive system in the Central Plains, reversed the tide of the war in China, ensured the great victory of the CCP Central Committee’s Central Plains strategy, laid the foundation for the Huaihai Campaign, and accelerated the pace of the Liberation War and national victory. Their efforts built a solid foundation for launching the Huaihai Campaign and erected a glorious monument in the history of the national liberation war.

The former sites of the CCP Central Plains Bureau and the Central Plains Military Region in Baofeng include: the former site of the CCP Central Plains Bureau (including the former site of the CCP Central Plains Bureau headquarters, the former site of the Xinhua News Agency’s Central Plains General Branch, the former site of the Zhongzhou Farmers Bank, and the former residence of Li Xuefeng), the former site of the Central Plains Military Region Command Headquarters, the former residence of Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping, the former site of the Military and Political Affairs Office of the Central Plains Military Region Command Headquarters, the former site of the Intelligence Office of the Central Plains Military Region Command Headquarters, the former site of the meeting of regiment-level and above cadres of the Central Plains Military Region, the former site of the Political Department of the Central Plains Military Region, the former residence of Chen Yi and Deng Zihui, the former site of the Liulin Meeting, the former temporary site of the CCP Central Plains Bureau, the former site of the Zhongyuan Xinhua Bookstore Head Office, the former site of the Ordnance Office of the Central Plains Military Region (former site of the prisoner detention camp for the Xiangfan Campaign), the former residence of Chen Geng, the former site of the Baofeng Meeting, the former site of the Jiaolou Meeting, the former site of the Zhongyuan University, the former site of the Western Henan Administrative Cadre School, the former site of Workshop No. 1 of the Armament Office of the Western Henan Military Industry Office, the former site of Workshop No. 2 of the Armament Office of the Western Henan Military Industry Office, the former site of the Printing Factory of the Zhongyuan Xinhua Bookstore, and the former printing site of the Central Plains Military Region’s "One Year of Southern Expedition."

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of Henan Provincial Cultural Heritage Protection Units