Former Site of the Local Work Department of the General Political Department of the Red Army

Former Site of the Local Work Department of the General Political Department of the Red Army

The former site of the Local Work Department of the General Political Department of the Red Army is a cultural tourism attraction and a classic red tourism destination.

The former site of the General Political Department of the Red Army is located at No. 28 Yangliu Street in the old city of Zunyi, adjacent to the site of the Zunyi Conference. After the Red Army entered Zunyi, the General Political Department was stationed in a Catholic church on Yangliu Street in the old city. This Catholic church was constructed in the fifth year of the Tongzhi era of the Qing Dynasty (1867 AD) by French missionary Sabou. Its primary buildings consisted of a church hall and a school, covering an area of 13,555 square meters and enclosed by walls. With its magnificent architecture and ornate carvings, the complex was quite splendid. Upon entering Zunyi, the Central Revolutionary Military Commission's General Political Department (abbreviated as the Red Army General Political Department) housed its organizational, propaganda, sabotage, youth, administrative departments, as well as its secretariat within the church. To mobilize the masses, shortly after arriving in the city, the General Political Department held a mass meeting inside the church hall. Participants included masons, carpenters, stonemasons, tailors, bamboo weavers, grass sandal makers, vegetable vendors, shop owners, craftsmen, students, teachers, and about one or two hundred others. Under the leadership of the Red Army General Political Department, and through careful discussion among representatives of the people, it was decided to quickly establish various revolutionary organizations and armed forces such as the "Zunyi County Revolutionary Committee," "Huishan Township Revolutionary Committee," "Red Trade Union," and "Political Department Guerrilla Security Unit," rapidly launching vigorous revolutionary activities throughout Zunyi. Revolutionary documents and propaganda materials such as the "Outline of the Constitution of the Chinese Soviet Republic," "Central Committee’s Message to the People," and "Where Is the Way Out?" were distributed to the public during the meeting. At the same time, Zunyi’s “Ganren” (the poor) also received confiscated assets from bureaucrats and landlords here.

When the Red Army crossed the Chishui River for the second time and recaptured Zunyi, the General Political Department again held a meeting in the church hall for cadres at the level of battalion and above. Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai (represented by dash), and Zhang Wentian delivered speeches, analyzing the reasons for the failure of the Red Army’s fifth counter-“encirclement and suppression” campaign and explaining the correct combat principles of the Red Army. In his speech, Mao Zedong vividly remarked that during the fifth counter-“encirclement and suppression” campaign, due to the errors of “Left” adventurism, the Red Army was constantly on the defensive and had no initiative whatsoever—their situation was like that of a beggar beating a dog, having to keep moving while being bitten at any moment.

When the Red Army recrossed the Chishui River and returned to Zunyi, the headquarters of the First Red Army Corps also held a conference here to review combat operations over the month following the Zunyi Conference.

At that time, Li Fuchun, acting director of the General Political Department of the Red Army, along with Cai Chang and Liu Qunxian who worked in the department, resided here.

In February 1982, the People’s Government of Guizhou Province designated the former site of the General Political Department of the Red Army — the Zunyi Catholic Church — as a provincial-level key cultural relics protection unit, managed by the Zunyi Conference Memorial Hall. In December 1983, the National Cultural Relics Bureau agreed to include the former site of the General Political Department of the Red Army as part of the national key cultural relics protection unit, the Zunyi Conference Site. In 1984, the National Cultural Relics Bureau allocated substantial funds to comprehensively renovate the school section of the church and its surrounding environment. The Zunyi City Library was also relocated at the same time. On November 2, 1984, [Name Redacted] inscribed the eight large characters “Former Site of the General Political Department of the Red Army.” By the end of that year, on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Zunyi Conference, the “Former Site of the General Political Department of the Red Army” and the “Zunyi Conference Auxiliary Exhibition Room” were officially opened to the public.