Former Site of the Chinese Communist Party Delegation Headquarters

Former Site of the Chinese Communist Party Delegation Headquarters

The Former Site of the Chinese Communist Party Delegation Headquarters is a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level and a classic red tourism destination.

The Former Site of the Chinese Communist Party Delegation Headquarters is located at No. 151, Zhongshan 3rd Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing. As part of the fifth batch of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level, it holds important cultural heritage value. Its preservation and utilization was one of the 120 key wartime heritage protection projects designated for rescue and repair by the Fifth Plenary Session of the Third Chongqing Municipal Committee. In the "Chongqing Wartime Heritage Protection and Utilization Master Plan" reviewed and approved by the Chongqing Municipal Committee and Municipal Government in 2010, the on-site preservation of this former delegation headquarters was identified as a key project for the protection and exhibition of Chongqing’s wartime heritage.

On December 16, 1945, the Chinese Communist Party delegation, led by Zhou Enlai, came to Chongqing to attend the Chinese Political Consultative Conference. The Kuomintang government allocated a dormitory building formerly belonging to the Bank of China for the delegation’s use.

The Political Consultative Conference, also known as the “Old Political Consultative Conference,” was held in Chongqing from January 10 to 31, 1946. A total of 38 participants attended, including representatives from the Kuomintang, the Communist Party, the Democratic League, the Youth Party, and non-partisan individuals. During the conference, sharp and complex struggles unfolded among the left, center, and right political forces. The focus of contention was the issues of the military and political power. The Chinese Communist Party insisted that national democratization and military democratization must be implemented first, before moving on to the nationalization of the military. This stance thwarted the Kuomintang’s attempt to use the guise of military nationalization and unified military and political orders to eliminate the people’s army and the liberated areas. Through the efforts of the Chinese Communist Party, the conference passed five resolutions: the Government Organization Bill, the National Assembly Bill, the Peaceful Nation-Building Program Bill, the Military Issues Bill, and the Draft Constitution. Because these resolutions were, to varying degrees, beneficial to the people and detrimental to the Kuomintang’s rule, they were eventually torn up by the ruling Kuomintang faction.

The building is a Chinese-Western style brick-and-wood structure consisting of four units. It faces east and is situated westward, with two stories above ground and a total height of 13 meters. It spans 44.6 meters in width and 10 meters in depth. Including auxiliary buildings, it covers a total area of 627 square meters. Leading figures of the Chinese Communist Party delegation such as Zhou Enlai, Dong Biwu, Wang Ruofei, Ye Jianying, Lu Dingyi, Deng Yingchao, and Li Weihan all worked diligently here.

The welcome ceremony for the release of Ye Ting and Liao Chengzhi, as well as the ceremony for Ye Ting’s admission into the Communist Party, were also held here. After the Chinese Communist Party delegation moved to Nanjing in 1946, the building became the office site for staff of the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. In November of the same year, it was returned to the Kuomintang government and occupied by the military barracks of the Chongqing Garrison Command, later serving as staff housing for the Chongqing Procuratorate. On February 18, 1961, it was designated as a Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Unit by the Chongqing Municipal People’s Government. In 2000, it was announced as a Municipality-level Cultural Relics Protection Unit and placed under the management and use of the Hongyan Revolutionary Memorial Hall.

Source: Chongqing Hongyan Cultural Development Management Center