The Route of the Red Sixth Army's Western Expedition through Shuangpai

The Route of the Red Sixth Army's Western Expedition through Shuangpai

The Route of the Red Sixth Army's Western Expedition through Shuangpai is a classic red tourism destination.

The Route of the Red Sixth Army's Western Expedition through Shuangpai is located in areas such as Chalin, Majiang, and the Yangming Mountain Forest Farm in Shuangpai County, Yongzhou City.

On the early morning of August 22, 1934, the Red Sixth Army set out from Tangjiating in Ningyuan County, passed through Fengmushan, Pijia, crossed Xiangguling, and entered the territory of Shuangpai. It then traversed places including Bailan River, Xiaomajiang, Maoliwan, — River, Ganhelei, Baishuilin (Banbianpu), Lingjiao, Tongzi’ao, Banqiaopu, Jiakouyan, Miaoshanpu, Dahejiang, Chanziping, and Leijiaping. At the fork in the road at Leijiaping, the troops split at Qiaobridge (now near the Jinxing Bridge in Chanziping Village), dividing into two routes. The smaller left unit, consisting of about 1,000 soldiers, passed through Pingxijiang and Quanyaichong, crossed the sparsely populated Yajiling, and headed toward Lingling County. After entering Lingling County, the two units quickly regrouped. At 24:00 on August 23, they reached Caijiapu on the eastern bank of the Xiang River, preparing to forcefully cross the Xiang River and advance toward the location of the Red Third Army led by He Long to join forces. On August 24, Ren Bishi, Xiao Ke, and Wang Zhen sent a telegram to Commander Zhu De: “The Xiao River is full, and crossing the Xiang River is also very difficult. In our opinion, the Red Sixth Army should establish guerrilla zones in the Yangming Mountain area and its adjacent regions between Qiyang, Lingling, Xintian, Changning, and Ningyuan, and plan to use Yangming Mountain as a base…” They resolutely turned southeast that same day, passing through Tongziping in Lingling, crossing Tanggong’an, traveling along the left tributary of the Huangxi River, trekking through narrow mountain paths, climbing over Ma’anshan, and arriving at Zuyean, Xiema’an, Zhugaoji, and Wanshou Temple, among other places. By August 25, all units of the Red Sixth Army had reached the heart of Yangming Mountain. After arriving at Yangming Mountain, the Red Sixth Army realized that the environmental conditions and the surrounding situation at the time were not conducive to establishing a large-scale revolutionary base. On August 26, the Red Sixth Army left Yangming Mountain and proceeded to Baiguoshi in Qiyang.

To commemorate the passage of the Red Sixth Army during its western expedition, in 1996, the People’s Government of Shuangpai County built the Red Army Memorial Pavilion on Zhugaoji in Yangming Mountain. In front of the pavilion stands a 2-meter-high stone stele inscribed with the seven large characters “Monument to the Long March of the Red Army,” with the origin of the pavilion described on the stone tablet below. The Red Army Memorial Pavilion is a double-story octagonal pavilion, painted red on the exterior, with some of the paint peeling off.

The Yangming Mountain National Forest Park, the site of the Red Sixth Army's Western Expedition through Shuangpai, was designated as a Hunan Provincial Patriotic Education Base by the Publicity Department of the Hunan Provincial Committee in July 2010.