Nan Yaojie Revolutionary Base

Nan Yaojie Revolutionary Base

The Nan Yaojie Revolutionary Base is a national AA-level tourist attraction and a classic red tourism destination.

Nan Yaojie is situated in the southern part of Youyang County, bordering Yuanhe County, Songtao County, and Yinjiang County of Guizhou Province, as well as Xiushan County of Chongqing. With its beautiful mountain scenery and serene environment, this area was where Comrade He Long, leader of the Third Red Army of the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army, founded the Sichuan-Guizhou-Hunan-Hubei Revolutionary Base. It was here that the seeds of China’s revolution were planted, where the Red Army lived and fought, and where the blood of martyrs was shed—truly a land of deep revolutionary significance.

On June 10, 1934, He Long set up the headquarters of the Third Red Army in the Yujiatongzi Courtyard at Nan Yaoshang. On October 27, the Sixth Red Army Corps of the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army, led by Ren Bishi, Xiao Ke, and others, arrived in the Sichuan-Guizhou border area after a long campaign, joining forces with the Third Red Army in a victorious meeting of over 8,000 troops. From then on, the Second and Sixth Red Army Corps used this base to operate across the Sichuan-Guizhou border, shocking the enemy and forcing them to divert significant military resources to besiege the region. This action alleviated the pressure on the Central Red Army, which was facing heavy enemy pursuit, and strongly supported the strategic movements and Long March of the Red Army.

Stepping into Nan Yaojie is like traveling back to the heroic years when the Red Army leaders mobilized local villagers to fight against landlords and distribute land. You can almost see the fierce battles with galloping warhorses and flying bullets. Entering the Yujiatongzi Courtyard, you may hear the hearty laughter of Commander He, witness the joyous embraces and cheers of the Second and Sixth Red Army Corps as they celebrated their reunion, and feel the poignant and touching scene of villagers bidding a tearful farewell to the Red Army with the song “Ten Farewells to the Red Army.”

In 1986, to commemorate the revolutionary holy land of Nan Yaojie and honor the martyrs, the Youyang County Government allocated funds to restore the site of the former headquarters of the Third Red Army and the Meeting Memorial Pavilion of the Second and Sixth Red Army Corps. General Liao Hansheng, then Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and a comrade who had helped establish the Nan Yaojie Revolutionary Base with Commander He, inscribed the name of the Nan Yaojie Memorial Hall as “Former Site of the Headquarters of the Third Red Army of the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army.” General Xiao Ke also inscribed a dedication for the Meeting Memorial Pavilion.

Today, Nan Yaojie is the only remaining old revolutionary base in Chongqing. Dozens of Red Army battle relics and martyrs’ graves remain well-preserved. Key sites include the meeting venue of the grand gathering of the Second and Sixth Red Army Corps, the August 1st Military-Civilian Assembly Site, and the former site of the Red Army Political Department in the Daba Market Ancestral Hall. There are also 56 cultural heritage sites, including the Red Army University, the Red Army Hospital, and the Ten Major Political Platforms. During Qingming Festival, locals from the Chongqing-Guizhou border area, along with young students, spontaneously visit the former headquarters site to pay tribute to the revolutionary martyrs, receive education in revolutionary traditions, and silently read the still-clear and powerful slogans left by the Red Army: “Capture Ran Ruiting alive — in memory of the workers and peasants who sacrificed for the revolution!”