Former Site of the Red 2nd and 6th Army Arsenal (Yaojia Grand House)

Former Site of the Red 2nd and 6th Army Arsenal (Yaojia Grand House)

The Former Site of the Red 2nd and 6th Army Arsenal (Yaojia Grand House) is a protected cultural heritage site of Hunan Province, a classic red tourism destination, and a patriotic education base.

The Former Site of the Red 2nd and 6th Army Arsenal (Yaojia Grand House) is located at the foot of Dabao Mountain in Ganlu Village, Ciyatang Town, Longshan County, Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture.

On April 12, 1935, to avoid being encircled by six columns of the Nationalist Army and ensure the safety of the Provincial Party Committee, the Hunan-Hubei-Sichuan-Guizhou Provincial Committee, Provincial Military District, Provincial Revolutionary Committee, and the Military Commission Branch relocated from Ta’wo in Yongshun to Xinzaiping Jiangjia Grand House in Xinglong Street, Longshan. Then on May 6, they moved again to Longjia Grand House in Ciyatang, Longshan. The Red Army Arsenal, which was directly affiliated with the Red 2nd and 6th Army, also relocated twice with the Provincial Committee and was eventually stationed at Yaojia Grand House in Ganlu Village, Ciyatang Town, Ciyatang.

The Red 2nd and 6th Army Arsenal was led by Factory Director Liu Xinghai and Political Instructor Yi Songlin, with four departments: Finance, Repair, Foundry, and Bomb-making, each headed by one department head and one quartermaster. The security of the arsenal was handled by the Longsang Independent Regiment, comprising about 1,000 personnel. The entire factory had around 300 workers, sourced mainly from three groups: approximately 150 were existing workers, about 50 were prisoners of war, and around 100 were local blacksmiths and carpenters recruited for the job.

The arsenal included a forge workshop, foundry workshop, gun repair workshop, grenade production workshop, and woodworking workshop. The forge workshop had 30 workers divided into two teams, each with a team leader who was a Red Army soldier. They were responsible for making bayonets and gun parts (barrels, handles). The gun repair workshop had about 80 people divided into three teams, focusing on assembling gun parts and repairing damaged firearms. The woodworking workshop had roughly 30 workers in two teams, producing gunstocks and ammunition boxes. The foundry had over 40 workers in two teams, responsible for manufacturing rifle, machine gun, pistol bullets, and grenade casings, as well as loading gunpowder, fuses, and assembling various types of bullets and grenades. Raw materials used included iron, copper, steel, and tin, with charcoal and firewood as fuel. The arsenal had two lathes, but most work was done manually. At that time, the arsenal manufactured and repaired a large quantity of urgently needed weapons and ammunition for the Red Army, providing crucial logistical support for the Red 2nd and 6th Army to defeat the Nationalist forces.

In November 1935, after the Long March of the Red 2nd and 6th Army, the arsenal ceased operations.

The former arsenal site is backed by Dabao Mountain. The building is a wooden quadrangle courtyard facing south with a main hall and three side wings, featuring wing rooms on the east and west with stilted structures. The southwest and northeast corners originally had stone archways. The building covers a construction area of 1,700 square meters and a land area of 3,400 square meters, and is currently well preserved.

The Former Site of the Red 2nd and 6th Army Arsenal (Yaojia Grand House) was designated as a Hunan Provincial Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit by the People’s Government of Hunan Province in January 1996, and as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level by the State Council in May 2006. It was recognized as a Hunan Provincial Patriotic Education Base by the Publicity Department of the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee in January 1995, and as a National Patriotic Education Demonstration Base by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee in June 2001.