Hechi Red Army Slogan Building

Hechi Red Army Slogan Building

The Hechi Red Army Slogan Building is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit, a classic red tourism attraction, and a patriotic education base.

The Red Army Slogan Building in Hechi, Guangxi, was built in 1926 and originally named “Former Site of the Hechi Encampment of the 7th Army of the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army.” It is a three-courtyard, two-story building with rammed earth walls, wooden flooring, and a tiled roof with small blue tiles. Covering a land area of 1,200 square meters and a building area of 586.57 square meters, it has been listed as part of the sixth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

This building was originally the residence of Mr. Wu Ziruo, a democratic figure—a civilian house with earthen walls, wooden flooring, and a tiled roof. In 1964, it was converted into a commemorative site.

In early 1930, after battles in Long’an and Tingsi, the main force of the 7th Red Army shifted toward the Fengshan and Donglan revolutionary bases before moving on to guerrilla operations along the Guizhou-Guangxi border. Commander-in-Chief Li Mingrui and Army Commander Zhang Yunyi led the 1st and 2nd columns through Lingyun, Tian’e, and Nandan counties into Hechi. On March 31, 1930, they captured Hechi County. In early April, around 3,000 Red Army soldiers set out from Hechi, passing through Liuxu, Jinchengjiang, Dongjiang, Huaiyuan, and Sinan en route to Guizhou. They seized Rongjiang, an important stronghold of the Guizhou warlords. The troops then returned to Hechi and headed back to Right River. In late October 1930, the 7th and 8th Red Armies entered Hechi County for the third time and held their First Party Congress to reorganize before advancing northward. On November 7, the First Congress of the Chinese Communist Party for the 7th and 8th Red Armies was held at Fengyi Primary School in Hechi. Ten delegates attended. The agenda included discussing the implementation of tasks assigned by the Central Committee to the 7th Red Army, reviewing past work, reelecting the Front Committee, appointing Li Mingrui as Commander-in-Chief, Zhang Yunyi as Army Commander, and Deng Xiaoping as Political Commissar. The army was reorganized into three divisions: the 19th, 20th, and 21st. On November 8, all 7th Red Army instructors gathered at Sanliting for a reorganization ceremony. Li Mingrui, Zhang Yunyi, Deng Xiaoping, and Deng Gang attended. A solemn flag presentation ceremony was held, and the four leaders addressed the troops and inspected them. On November 10, the 7th Red Army, leading the 19th and 20th divisions—nearly 7,000 soldiers—set out from Hechi County northward to carry out the mission assigned by the Central Committee. Wei Baqun took the designation of the 21st Division and returned to Dongfeng to rebuild the unit and continue the struggle in the Right River Revolutionary Base.

During their activities in Hechi County, the Red Army used this building as their encampment. Deng Xiaoping, Zhang Yunyi, and Wei Baqun often worked and stayed on the upper floor. Red Army soldiers wrote and painted numerous revolutionary slogans and cartoons on the interior walls of civilian houses. These included content about the nature and program of the Chinese Communist Party, targets of the revolution, the Outline Land Law, and the Ten Crimes of the Kuomintang—all later covered with lime plaster. In the early 1960s, the plaster peeled off, revealing the slogans anew. To date, 55 Red Army slogans and six cartoons have been preserved, covering a total area of over 90 square meters, all written in black charcoal and black stone powder. Later generations dubbed it the “Red Army Slogan Building.” The Hechi Red Army Slogan Building currently preserves the largest, most concentrated, most intact, and richest collection of Red Army revolutionary slogans from that era in China.

The Red Army Slogan Building was designated as a Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit in December 1978, a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit by the State Council in June 2006, and a Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Patriotic Education Base by the regional Party committee and government in December 1995.

Address: No. 28, Hechi Street, Hechi Town, Hechi City

Transportation: Take a bus within Hechi City to reach the scenic spot

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units