Former Site of Yongli Sichuan Plant

Former Site of Yongli Sichuan Plant

The former site of Yongli Sichuan Plant is a Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit and a patriotic education base.

The former site of Yongli Sichuan Plant is located within Sichuan Dongfeng Electric Machinery Co., Ltd. in Qiaogou Town, Wutongqiao District, Leshan City, Sichuan Province, covering a building area of approximately 12,419 square meters.

The predecessor of Yongli Sichuan Plant was the Yongli Tanggu Alkali Plant, established in 1917 by the renowned patriotic industrialist Fan Xudong—who was hailed by Mao Zedong as one of China’s four great modern industrial pioneers—and Dr. Hou Debang, a celebrated scientist and inventor of the “Hou’s Alkali Process.” The plant’s “Red Triangle” brand of soda ash was hailed as “a symbol of China’s industrial progress,” earning gold medals at the 1926 Philadelphia International Exposition in the United States and the 1930 Brussels International Exposition in Belgium, gaining fame both domestically and internationally. After the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in July 1937, Tanggu in Tianjin was occupied by Japanese forces. Fan Xudong and Hou Debang refused to collaborate with the enemy, relocated inland, and rebuilt their chemical base in Sichuan. They named the Sichuan plant “New Tanggu,” and designated roads in the factory area after coastal provinces and cities to carry on the legacy of Yongli’s Tanggu operations and to eternally remember the national humiliation. During the War of Resistance, the people of Yongli demonstrated strong patriotism and national integrity, overcoming extreme hardships to continue soda ash production in support of the nationwide resistance effort and the industrial and civilian needs of the rear areas. It was here that they completed the world-renowned “Hou’s Alkali Process.” The former site of Yongli Sichuan Plant includes: (1) The stone carving of “New Tanggu” handwritten by Mr. Fan Xudong. (2) Stone factory buildings (power plant and soda ash plant) with a total area of 8,000 square meters, featuring unique designs and structures. (3) The water softening treatment room and large reservoirs for water purification. (4) A 221-meter-long mechanical workshop, once acclaimed as the longest single-span structure in Asia at the time. (5) The on-site command post embedded with the “Red Triangle” logo. (6) Large corridor-style office and laboratory buildings. (7) The official residence and living quarters of Fan Xudong and Hou Debang. (8) Underground tunnels totaling 380 meters in length (serving both air-raid shelter and water supply/drainage functions, now with sealed entrances). (9) Mountain cave workshops covering a total area of 13,000 square meters (expanded during the military production period of Dongfeng Electric Machinery Co.). (10) Residential buildings for Yongli employees, including 16 structures such as the Cross-shaped Building and the Linear Building, with a total area of 4,319 square meters (currently used as housing for Dongfeng Electric Machinery Co. employees).

On September 25, 2009, the Leshan Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government designated the former site of Yongli Sichuan Plant as a Fourth Batch Patriotic Education Base. On October 9, 2009, the Wutongqiao District Government of Leshan City announced the site as a District-Level Cultural Relics Protection Unit. In 2019, the former site was listed as a Ninth Batch Provincial-Level Cultural Relics Protection Unit by the People’s Government of Sichuan Province.

Further Reading:

· Ninth Batch Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units