Li Dazhao Memorial Hall

Li Dazhao Memorial Hall

The Li Dazhao Memorial Hall is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction, a cultural tourism site, a classic red tourism destination, and a patriotic education base.

Exhibition Hall Introduction

The Li Dazhao Memorial Hall includes an exhibition hall and a former residence. The exhibition hall is situated in the new urban area of Leting County, Hebei Province. Approved by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and initiated by the Hebei Provincial Committee, the foundation was laid on August 18, 1996, and the hall was completed and opened on August 16, 1997. [Name omitted] attended the ceremony. The exhibition hall occupies an area of 130 mu, with a construction area of 8,680 square meters, including a main building area of 5,200 square meters and an exhibition area of 2,250 square meters. The main visiting content of the Li Dazhao Memorial Hall includes: the exhibition of Li Dazhao’s life and achievements, the Li Dazhao Memorial Stele Forest, the special exhibition on Li Dazhao’s integrity, and the Li Dazhao Former Residence. The Li Dazhao Memorial Hall is a deputy department-level institution and a national second-class museum, with six departments under it: the Office, the Propaganda and Education Department, the Red Tourism Development Department, the Gardens Department, the Security Department, and the Li Dazhao Former Residence Management Office.

Since its opening to the public, the Li Dazhao Memorial Hall has played a significant role in patriotic education. Especially after becoming free to the public in 2008, it has received over 1.5 million visitors from across the country and overseas each year, showing a yearly increasing trend. In 2012, the number of visitors reached 1.8 million. More than 500 schools, government agencies, and communities have established moral education bases at the memorial hall. The museum has also organized lecture teams to promote awareness in society, conducting Li Dazhao spirit-themed lectures at institutions such as Peking University, Tsinghua University, Tianjin Political and Legal Cadres Management Institute, as well as government offices, primary and secondary schools, military camps, communities, and villages.

The Li Dazhao Memorial Hall has been designated as one of the first 100 national patriotic education demonstration bases, one of the 100 classic red tourism scenic areas, and one of the 30 premium red tourism routes in China. It is also a National Integrity Education Base, a National Defense Education Demonstration Base, and a Hebei Provincial Party History Education Base. It has been repeatedly recognized as a National Advanced Unit in Spiritual Civilization Construction and a Hebei Provincial Spiritual Civilization Unit. Currently, the Li Dazhao Memorial Hall is a national 4A-level tourist attraction.

Former Residence Introduction

The Li Dazhao Former Residence is located in the center of Daheituo Village, Leting County, Hebei Province. It was designed and supervised by Li Dazhao’s grandfather, Li Ruzhen, in 1881. Li Ruzhen was a scholar who passed the local imperial examination and held the rank of a ninth-rank official. However, his official career was hindered, so he turned to business, running grocery stores in cities such as Changchun and Wanbaoshan in the northeast. After returning to his hometown, he purchased dozens of acres of land, becoming a relatively wealthy family in the village.

The Li Dazhao Former Residence faces south and measures 55.5 meters from north to south and 18.2 meters from east to west, covering an area of 1,010.1 square meters. It consists of 21 rooms, forming a two-courtyard, connected-hall layout typical of Leting County residential architecture since the Ming and Qing dynasties. The residence is built with a brick-and-wood structure, featuring high steps, a large black-painted main gate, and a courtyard divided into three sections from north to south. Between the main gate and the rear gate, along with the side rooms and main rooms, there is a one-zhang-high (approx. 3.3 meters) blue-brick wall with a cross-shaped top. The main rooms, side rooms, and walls are proportionally balanced in height; the main gate, inner gate, and rear gate are arranged in a well-ordered layout. The three courtyards form a unified whole with clear layering. While adhering to the traditional symmetrical layout, slight variations in details have led to this residence also being called the “Mandarin Duck Residence.” At the time, the residence was more majestic and spacious compared to the surrounding houses and was known as “Huaidetang” (House of Virtue), one of the three major household names in Daheituo Village (the others being “Fuzhentang” and “Baiyutang”). Originally, the residence was shared by Li Ruzhen and his third younger brother Li Rubin, with Li Ruzhen’s family living in the eastern half and Li Rubin’s family in the western half. Now, it is collectively referred to as the Li Dazhao Former Residence.

The front courtyard lies between the main gate and the inner gate. On the east side are three side rooms that once served as a private school where Li Dazhao’s uncle, Li Renyuan, taught students. There was also a pigsty nearby to the south. On the west side are two open-faced mill sheds, with another pigsty to the south.

Entering the inner gate leads to the middle courtyard. On the east side are three side rooms. On October 29, 1889, Li Dazhao was born in the northern room of this building. The interior displays items such as a wooden cabinet, incense bottles, and a dressing mirror—wedding gifts from Li Dazhao’s mother Zhou’s family. The southern room of the side building has an open-front layout with a loom used by Li Dazhao’s grandmother and mother, as well as an ancestral shrine enshrining the tablets of Li Dazhao’s ancestors and parents. The north side of the middle courtyard features six connected main rooms. The eastern three were the rooms where Li Dazhao lived for a long time. The outer room served as a kitchen and hallway, while the inner room had two open-front spaces. The interior furnishings largely remain in their original state, including tables, chairs, stools, chests, and wardrobes left by Li Dazhao’s grandfather, as well as dowry items from Li Dazhao’s wife Zhao Renlan’s family. The western half of the courtyard also has three side rooms and three main rooms connected to the eastern side, which were occupied by Li Rubin’s family at the time.

Beyond the main rooms is the rear courtyard. The rear courtyard is divided into two sections by a blue-brick wall in the middle. Each section has a rear gate of the same style. The eastern section has two eastern side rooms and two open-front sheds. The side rooms were used by the Li family to store grain, and Li Dazhao often read, wrote, and composed essays here in his childhood, hence it was also called his childhood study room. The sheds were used to store farming tools and miscellaneous items. The western section of the rear courtyard has no buildings and serves as a small vegetable garden.

The Li Dazhao Former Residence in Leting County was not only the place where Li Dazhao was born and spent his childhood and youth but also where he and his wife Zhao Renlan married, settled down, and lived for a long time. Until 1920, for the convenience of life and work, Li Dazhao brought his wife and children to Beijing to rent a temporary residence. In April 1927, after Li Dazhao was martyred, Zhao Renlan returned to Leting from Beijing with their young children and continued to live in the same rooms she had shared with Li Dazhao for another six years. On April 23, 1933, a public memorial service for Li Dazhao was held, and Zhao Renlan passed away in Beijing in May of the same year. Later, Li Dazhao’s eldest daughter Li Xinghua, second daughter Li Yanhua, and their two younger brothers Li Guanghua and Li Xinhua lived in this residence for many years.

To commemorate Comrade Li Dazhao, a pioneer of the Chinese communist movement, a great Marxist, one of the principal founders of the Chinese Communist Party, a memorial hall for his former residence was established on July 1, 1958, with the care of the Party and the government. On July 23, 1982, the Li Dazhao Former Residence was approved by the Hebei Provincial People’s Government as a key cultural relic protection unit of Hebei Province. On January 13, 1988, it was approved by the State Council as a key cultural relic protection unit of the People’s Republic of China. On August 16, 1997, the Li Dazhao Memorial Hall was opened to the public, and the Li Dazhao Former Residence Management Office was established and placed under the unified management of the memorial hall, collectively referred to as the Li Dazhao Memorial Hall.

Attraction Category:

Former Residence

Ticket Price:

Free

Opening Hours:

08:30-17:30

Address:

No. 1 Miyuan Street, Leting County, Tangshan City

Li Dazhao was a pioneer of the Chinese communist movement, a great Marxist, an outstanding proletarian revolutionary, and one of the principal founders of the Chinese Communist Party.

On the sixth day of the tenth month of the fifteenth year of the Guangxu reign in the Qing Dynasty (October 29, 1889), Li Dazhao was born in Daheituo Village, Leting County, Hebei Province. From a young age, he aspired to find a way out for suffering China. Starting from a patriotic stance, he moved from democracy to communism and, responding to the needs of the times, was the first to raise the banner of Marxism-Leninism in China, pointing the way toward a new social... [More details about Li Dazhao++]

Further Reading:

· National Second-Class Museum of China