Guodong Shatian Wanshou Palace

Guodong Shatian Wanshou Palace

Guodong Shatian Wanshou Palace is a cultural heritage site protected by Hunan Province, a classic red tourism destination, and a patriotic education base.

Guodong Shatian Wanshou Palace — Revolutionary Site of Mao Zedong and Others is located in Wanshou Palace Neighborhood Committee, Shatian Town, Guidong County, Chenzhou City.

In late March 1928, at the request of the Hunan–Southern Special Committee, Mao Zedong led the 1st Regiment of the 1st Division of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army to Hunan to support the Southern Hunan Uprising. He arrived in Shatian Market, Guidong on March 30. Both the division and regiment headquarters were stationed at Wanshou Palace. Mao stayed in the right wing room of the upper hall and presided over important meetings such as the 1st Regiment leaders meeting and the workers-peasants-soldiers representative meeting in the central hall. These meetings focused on researching and deploying land revolution struggles in the Shatian area and renaming the Guidong Red Guards as the “Xianggan Border Guerrilla Unit.” During his time in Shatian, Mao held mass rallies at the Shatian Theater, giving multiple speeches to promote revolutionary ideals and urge the working people to rise up against landlords and distribute land.

In August of the same year, after the 28th and 29th Regiments of the Red 4th Army suffered setbacks in their attack on Chenzhou, Zhu De and Chen Yi led the main force of the Red 4th Army to move to the Shatian area to carry out revolutionary activities. Chen Yi stayed in the side room of Wanshou Palace. Zhu De and Chen Yi repeatedly held mass rallies at the Shatian Theater to mobilize the public for the land revolution movement. “In the Shatian area of Guidong, land was redistributed twice—in March and August—and Party organizations were established.”

Wanshou Palace also served as the station of the New Fourth Army’s Shatian Liaison Office. In early 1938, after the Red Army guerrilla detachment of the Hunan–Guangdong–Jiangxi border region was reorganized into the Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army in Shatian and headed to the front lines, the New Fourth Army’s Shatian Liaison Office was officially established and stationed at Wanshou Palace. Gu Xingkui served as the head of the office and led the masses in carrying out anti-Japanese salvation activities.

Wanshou Palace was built in the late Qing Dynasty as an ancient temple-style building with a suspended gable roof and brick-wood structure. It has three halls that ascend progressively in height, covering a construction area of 421.7 square meters. The front hall features a stage connected to a corridor, while the middle and rear halls are divided by wooden partitions, with wing rooms on both sides. In the early years of the Republic of China, it was damaged by fire caused by a Taoist priest but was later rebuilt with funds raised by Jiangxi merchants as the “Jiangxi Guild Hall,” preserving the original layout of the halls and the appearance of the palace gate.

Guodong Shatian Wanshou Palace was designated as a Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit of Hunan Province by the Hunan Provincial Revolutionary Committee in September 1972, re-designated as a Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit by the People's Government of Hunan Province in October 1983, and announced as a Hunan Provincial Patriotic Education Base by the Publicity Department of the Hunan Provincial Committee in February 2002.