The Revenue Office

The Revenue Office

Historically, Hongjiang enjoyed exceptional waterway transportation advantages, making it a major hub for goods transit in Southwest China. It was known as “an important commercial port on the western border of Hunan,” with a volume of currency circulation second only to that of Changsha. Especially after the late Qing government lifted the opium ban, Hongjiang briefly became the country’s main entry point for opium. The Revenue Office was a taxation agency set up by the Qing government in Hongjiang to collect these taxes. Located at No. 13 Longchunchong, Yuanjiang Road, Hongjiang District, the office faces south and was first built in the fifth year of the Xianfeng reign during the Qing Dynasty (1855), originally called the “Hongjiang Branch of the Hunan Revenue Office.” It was a specialized taxation institution established by the late Qing government after lifting the opium ban to suppress rebel forces and secure supplies, tasked with collecting transit and landing taxes on general merchandise and opium. In the early years of the Republic of China, the government retained the Qing system, repaired the building, added tax collection counters, and established the “Hongjiang Revenue Collection Office.” In the 18th year of the Republic of China (1929), Hunan abolished the revenue system, and the office ceased to exist. The building was then purchased by Shanxi merchant Zhang Nanshan for business and residence, mainly selling Shanxi Fenjiu liquor. The words “Shanxi Fenjiu Sales Office” were inscribed on both sides of the gate. After the founding of New China, the building was taken over as government-managed public housing and managed by a real estate company, rented out to residents.

The Revenue Office covers an area of approximately 230 square meters. It is a single-entry, three-bay wooden post-and-lintel structure featuring a single-eave double-story roof, two courtyards, eight rooms in total, and enclosed by brick walls. The building has uneven heights—two stories on the southern side and three on the northern side—with an eight-character-style double-story gate facing the southwest. The ground floor serves as a waist gate, while the upper floor has an iron-bolted door. The main gate leads directly into the southern courtyard, with a staircase to the left leading to the second floor and a counter on the right. Inside the eight-character gate on the left is the counter. Its layout is rational and practical, making it an important physical resource for studying China’s opium history. The building was designed in accordance with local conditions, scientifically laid out, using relatively large timber materials with simple yet elegant decorations. Its rigorous and methodical structure bears distinct industry characteristics, offering significant historical and scientific value for researching the socioeconomic development, taxation history, and southern mountainous architectural art of Hongjiang during the Ming and Qing dynasties.

As a primary taxation institution, the Revenue Office received good protection historically and remains well-preserved today. The protected area extends 20 meters east, 50 meters south, 16 meters west, and 47 meters north from the outer wall of the Revenue Office. The construction control zone extends 50 meters outward in all directions from the boundary of the protected area.