Former Site of the Red Seventh Army Headquarters

Former Site of the Red Seventh Army Headquarters

The Former Site of the Red Seventh Army Headquarters is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit, a classic red tourism destination, and a patriotic education base.

The Former Site of the Red Seventh Army Headquarters is located at No. 39 Jiefang Street, Youjiang District, Baise City.

The site was first built in 1720, initiated by Guangdong merchant Liang Yu, who called on fellow merchants to jointly raise funds to construct the building, making it a primary lodging spot for Guangdong merchants doing business in Baise. The Yue Dong Guild Hall is a historic structure made of brick and wood, embodying the artistic traditions and style of southern Chinese architecture. The entire complex covers a land area of 2,331 square meters, with a construction area of 2,661 square meters. The guild hall faces east and is situated along a west-east axis, with three main halls as its central spine, flanked by four symmetrically arranged wing rooms and corridors on both sides, forming a closed “日”-shaped independent architectural complex. The halls, corridors, and walkways are meticulously laid out, with red square bricks and rectangular flagstones paving the courtyards and pathways. The hallways are supported entirely by solid wooden pillars or square granite stone columns. The inner gable walls of the three main central halls still retain well-preserved, exquisitely executed ink-wash murals. The entire complex integrates ancient Chinese architecture, calligraphy, sculpture, and painting arts.

On December 11, 1929, Deng Xiaoping and Zhang Yunyi successfully led the Baise Uprising and established the headquarters of the Red Seventh Army and the Front Committee of the Chinese Communist Party’s Red Seventh Army within the Yue Dong Guild Hall. Deng Xiaoping and Zhang Yunyi worked and lived here, and various departments under the headquarters—including the staff office, logistics office, adjutant office, and medical office—also operated from this location. The offices and living quarters of Deng Xiaoping and Zhang Yunyi were extremely modest, each furnished with only a desk and a bed. The beds were constructed from pine planks and long benches. They dressed, slept, and ate just like the other officers and soldiers, setting an exemplary model of hard work and austerity for the entire army. In 1961, upon the proposal of General Zhang Yunyi, the “Yue Dong Guild Hall” was designated as the “Former Site of the Headquarters of the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army Seventh Army.”

The Former Site of the Headquarters of the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army Seventh Army (Yue Dong Guild Hall) was listed as a Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit by the People’s Government of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in March 1961, designated as a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit by the State Council in January 1988, recognized as a Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Patriotic Education Base by the Party Committee and Government of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in December 1995, and proclaimed a National Patriotic Education Demonstration Base by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee in June 1997.

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units