Former Site of the Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Government of Chaling County

Former Site of the Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Government of Chaling County

The Former Site of the Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Government of Chaling County is a national AAA-level tourist attraction, a cultural relic protection unit of Hunan Province, a classic red tourism destination, and a patriotic education base.

The Former Site of the Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Government of Chaling County is located at Sanjiaoping in Qianjin Village, Chengguan Town, Chaling County, Zhuzhou City.

The site was originally the county (prefecture) government office from the Southern Song Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, first built in the mid-Song Dynasty and covering an area of 10,521 square meters. Situated at the strategic junction of Hunan and Jiangxi provinces, Chaling County served as the western barrier of Jinggangshan. After the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army established itself in Jinggangshan, Mao Zedong identified capturing Chaling as the primary goal for outward expansion. Taking advantage of the withdrawal of the Nationalist regular troops stationed in Chaling, on November 18, 1927, nearly 500 soldiers of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, led by Regiment Commander Chen Hao, successfully captured the county seat of Chaling. This was the first county town seized by the revolutionary army after marching into Jinggangshan. However, after entering the city, the revolutionary army’s leaders, including Chen Hao, lacked administrative experience. They did not engage with the masses, appointed only a county magistrate, and continued the old government system, even relying on the local chamber of commerce to fund military expenses. Wan Xixian, while promoting the establishment of the CCP Chaling County Committee and reviving mass organizations among workers and peasants, witnessed the flaws of the newly formed county government and the actions of officers like Chen Hao, which deeply worried him. He wrote a letter to Mao Zedong, then far away in Maoping. Mao promptly replied, instructing that appointing a soldier as county magistrate was wrong and that the Nationalist model must not be followed. Instead, a Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Government should be established. Shops, post offices, schools, and hospitals must be protected. Upon receiving Mao’s directive, Wan Xixian conveyed the message to party members within the army, regimental and battalion cadres, the Soldiers’ Committee, the new county government, and the CCP organization in Chaling, and began preparations for forming the Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Government. Trade unions, peasant associations, and the revolutionary army in the city elected worker, peasant, and soldier representatives respectively, and together established the first red political power in the Hunan-Jiangxi border region — the Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Government of Chaling County. On the 28th, a representative assembly of workers, peasants, and soldiers was held, forming the government with three standing committee members: worker representative Tan Zhenlin, peasant representative Li Bingrong, and soldier representative Chen Shiju. Tan Zhenlin was elected chairman. A celebration meeting was held that day. The main gate displayed couplets reading “Workers’, Peasants’ and Soldiers’ Government” and “Spirit of the Soviet.” The government had four departments: civil affairs, finance, youth labor, and women’s affairs, headed respectively by Yang Shaozhen, Luo Shangde, Luo Qingshan, and Chen Shutong. The site was destroyed in the war in 1928. Since 2005, Chaling County has carried out comprehensive restoration following the principle of “restoring the old as it was,” establishing exhibition rooms such as “Mao Zedong and Chaling,” the Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Government Memorial Hall, the Gallery of Generals from Chaling, and the Exhibition of Historical Figures of Chaling.

In January 2011, the site was designated as a Cultural Relic Protection Unit of Hunan Province by the People's Government of Hunan Province; in July 2010, it was recognized as a Patriotic Education Base of Hunan Province by the Publicity Department of the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee.

Admission

Admission: 25 RMB

Location

Group 3, Sanjiaoping, Qianjin Village, Chengguan Town, Chaling County, Hunan Province

Further Reading:

· Ninth Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Hunan Province