Former Site of the Bamaoxi Salt Tax Bureau Where He Long Smashed It Open with His Sword

Former Site of the Bamaoxi Salt Tax Bureau Where He Long Smashed It Open with His Sword

The former site of the Bamaoxi Salt Tax Bureau Where He Long Smashed It Open with His Sword is a cultural relic protection unit of Hunan Province.

The former site of the Bamaoxi Salt Tax Bureau is nestled against mountains and beside water, covering an area of 575 square meters with a built-up area of 450 square meters. The environment is beautiful. In 1946, Xiang Bangbai and Xiang Bangjia partially rebuilt the site on its original foundation. In the late 1950s, the east wing room was reconstructed; in the 1970s, the west wing room was restored. Last year, the county cultural relics bureau carried out a six-month emergency reinforcement, maintenance, repair, and preservation of the salt tax bureau site, along with surrounding environmental improvements. Nearly 100 cultural relics were collected and displayed, authentically recreating the heroic act of He Long leading the people of Sangzhi in their fight against feudal rule and the historical scene of their pursuit to save the nation and its people.

Marshal He Long’s deed of smashing open the salt tax bureau not only stands as a historical testament to the starting point of his revolutionary career but also serves as solid physical evidence of the oppression imposed by the late Qing authorities on merchants. It holds significant research value for studying the “Sichuan Salt to Aid Hubei” initiative from the Qing Dynasty to the Republican era, as well as the early military development of China’s revolutionary struggles. Additionally, parts of the site feature stilted architecture, a courtyard layout centered around a skywell, and a typical southern Chinese post-and-lintel structural style—representative of traditional western Hunan architectural design. This offers scientific value for the study of local residential architecture and plays an important role in researching He Long’s revolutionary history, as well as in inheriting and promoting red culture such as patriotism and revolutionary heroism.

Further Reading:

· Ninth Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units in Hunan Province