Former Site of the Wuzhou Local Committee of the CPC and the Guangxi Special Committee

Former Site of the Wuzhou Local Committee of the CPC and the Guangxi Special Committee

The Former Site of the Wuzhou Local Committee of the CPC and the Guangxi Special Committee is a classic red tourism destination and a patriotic education base.

The Exhibition Hall of the Former Site of the Wuzhou Local Committee of the CPC and the Guangxi Special Committee is located at No. 4, Xingren Lane, Jianshe Road, Wuzhou City.

In 1925, due to Wuzhou’s proximity to Guangzhou — the revolutionary center of the country at the time — as well as its concentration of industrial workers and flourishing revolutionary momentum, the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the CPC (then leading revolutionary movements across Guangdong, Guangxi, southern Fujian, and Southeast Asia) decided to first establish a CPC organization in Wuzhou before expanding to other parts of Guangxi. It dispatched multiple batches of CPC members to carry out party-building work there. In October 1925, the first local CPC organization in Guangxi — the Wuzhou Branch of the CPC — was established. In the autumn of 1925, Zhou Enlai, then a standing committee member of the Guangdong Provincial Committee and head of its military department, personally visited Wuzhou to guide the party-building efforts. At the time, Long Qiyuan, the secretary of the Wuzhou Branch of the CPC and publicly known as the chief editor of the Wuzhou Republican Daily, arranged for Zhou Enlai to stay at the Datong Hotel due to the need for secrecy. The hotel, located near the passenger dock and convenient for access while being quiet amid the bustling surroundings, suited covert operations. After hearing reports from Long Qiyuan and others on the progress of party-building in Wuzhou, Zhou Enlai fully acknowledged the achievements of the Wuzhou Party and League organizations in mobilizing the masses and carrying out anti-imperialist and anti-feudal movements. He believed that to consolidate and develop the newly established Party organizations, it was essential to launch worker and peasant movements and expand the revolutionary ranks. The three-story brick-and-wood building at today’s No. 4, Xingren Lane, Jianshe Road — covering just 118 square meters — was the site of the Wuzhou Local Committee of the CPC at that time and served as the leadership hub of the revolutionary movement in Guangxi. Tan Shoulin, Secretary of the Wuzhou Local Committee, and Ma Ying, Secretary of the League Local Committee, lived on the second floor, while the third floor functioned as a meeting room. The balcony was enclosed by a fence, allowing ventilation and light while preventing outsiders from easily seeing inside — ideal for covert work.

In May 1927, the Wuzhou Local Committee of the CPC was renamed the Guangxi Local Committee of the CPC, with Liao Mengqiao as its secretary, overseeing the entire province. In January 1928, the Guangxi Local Committee was reorganized into the Guangxi Special Committee, with Deng Bachi appointed as its secretary. In June, Zhu Xiangang, Secretary of the Guangxi Special Committee, arrived in Wuzhou and rented a space on the third floor of a building at today’s No. 5, Dongyi Lane, Weixinli, Minzhu 2nd Road, along with other comrades assigned by the Party organization. The Special Committee offices were also located here. This was a four-story brick-and-wood structure, with the third floor spanning just 48 square meters. Outwardly resembling a family residence, it actually served as the command center for organizing Guangxi’s anti-imperialist movement and preparing for an armed uprising. In September 1928, the Guangxi Special Committee was renamed the Provisional Provincial Committee of the CPC Guangxi, but since the central government-appointed secretary had not yet taken office, Zhu Xiangang remained the key leader. The provisional committee offices continued to operate from this location. To facilitate his work, Zhu Xiangang posed as a businessman, using trade as a cover. He traveled frequently between Wuzhou, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong, as well as crisscrossing Nanning, Guilin, and Liuzhou to organize and mobilize the masses and guide and inspect the work of local Party organizations. In the winter of 1928, due to betrayal by a traitor, the provisional committee offices suffered severe damage. Zhu Xiangang managed to escape cleverly and calmly arranged for the dispersion and relocation of committee members. Later, the Provisional Provincial Committee set up offices in Xinqiao, Yulin, continuing to lead the work of Party organizations throughout Guangxi. While attending a meeting of Farmers' Association members in Rongmugen Village, Xinqiao, Yulin County, Zhu Xiangang was unfortunately arrested. Despite brutal torture by the enemy, he remained steadfast and unyielding until his heroic death at the age of 42.

In 1975, the autonomous region carried out repairs on the former site of the Wuzhou Local Committee of the CPC and constructed the Exhibition Hall of the Former Site of the Wuzhou Local Committee of the CPC and the Guangxi Special Committee nearby. The hall was built with old blue bricks for the exterior and features a two-story reinforced concrete structure, with the ground floor serving as an exhibition room. It was completed and opened to the public in December 1978. The exhibition is divided into four sections: (1) Wuzhou in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries; (2) The Heroic Anti-Imperialist and Anti-Feudal Struggles of the Wuzhou People; (3) The Birth of the Wuzhou Branch of the CPC; (4) The Period of the First Kuomintang-Communist Cooperation. The displayed revolutionary relics, historical photographs, and documents not only authentically reflect the arduous struggle of the Wuzhou Local Committee of the CPC, the Guangxi Special Committee, and the Provisional Provincial Committee of Guangxi, but also vividly introduce the touching life stories of the martyrs. These include Tan Shoulin, the first secretary of the Wuzhou Local Committee — “fervent as fire, roaring like thunder,” and “loyal-hearted as the sun, with love as deep as the sea”; Zhu Xiangang, Secretary of the Guangxi Special Committee — “fragrant legacy through the ages, towering merit across Guangxi”; Liao Mengqiao, Secretary of the Guangxi Local Committee, who endured brutal torture after arrest without ever yielding; Zhong Yun, Secretary of the Wuzhou League Local Committee, who sang “The Internationale” bravely as he faced execution; and female martyrs such as Qin Chaorong, Li Suqiu, Chen Liqing, and Hu Baofeng.

The Exhibition Hall of the Former Site of the Wuzhou Local Committee of the CPC and the Guangxi Special Committee was designated as a Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Patriotic Education Base by the CPC Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Committee and Government in December 1995.