Former Site of the Eighth Route Army Chongqing Office

Former Site of the Eighth Route Army Chongqing Office

The Former Site of the Eighth Route Army Chongqing Office is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit and a classic red tourism destination.

The former site at No. 13 Hongyan Village covers an area of 501 square meters, with a building area of 1,186 square meters. The entire building features a wooden post-and-lintel structure built in the 1930s. It served as the office location for both the public Eighth Route Army Chongqing Office of the Chinese Communist Party during the War of Resistance against Japan and the secret CCP Southern Bureau.

In early 1939, the CCP Southern Bureau and the Eighth Route Army Chongqing Office were established in Chongqing. Initially, their offices were located at No. 70 Jifang Street in the urban area. However, due to insufficient housing in the city and safety concerns from Japanese air raids, Zhou Enlai instructed the staff to find a new location in the suburbs after arriving in Chongqing. With the consent of Ms. Rao Guimo, the owner of the former Dayou Farm at Hongyanzi, in the autumn of 1939, the staff of the Eighth Route Army Chongqing Office designed and rebuilt a three-story building on the farm into the office building for the CCP Southern Bureau and the Eighth Route Army Chongqing Office. Since then, Hongyan Village became the command center of the Chinese Communist Party in Kuomintang-controlled areas. Veteran proletarian revolutionaries such as Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Dong Biwu, Ye Jianying, Deng Yingchao, Qin Bangxian, Wang Ruofei, Wu Yuzhang, and Lin Boqu all worked and lived here.

The first floor of the office site was used by the public Eighth Route Army Chongqing Office. Before the Southern Anhui Incident, it also housed the New Fourth Army Chongqing Office. Departments under the office, including the Managerial Section, Clerical Section, General Affairs Section, Transportation Section, and Guard Squad, were all located here. The second floor served as the office space for the secret CCP Southern Bureau, while the third floor housed a secret radio station. The former office site is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Further Reading:

· First Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units