Former Site of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Border Region Government and Military Command

Former Site of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Border Region Government and Military Command

The Former Site of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Border Region Government and Military Command is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit and a classic red tourism attraction.

Former Site of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Border Region Government and Military Command (Fourth Batch National Heritage Conservation Unit)

Era: 1939

Address: Caijiaya Village, 7.5 km west of Xing County

This was the former site of the military and political leadership organs of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Border Region during the Anti-Japanese War. In February 1940, the Administrative Office of Northwestern Shanxi (later renamed the Administrative Office of Shanxi-Suiyuan) was established here. The 120th Division and the headquarters of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Military Region were also stationed here until they withdrew and moved south in the second half of 1948.

The original site was the residence and garden of Niu Youlan, an enlightened local gentry figure from Shanxi-Suiyuan, who donated the entire property to the anti-Japanese democratic government during the war. It faces south and consists of two relatively independent courtyards, east and west, which are interconnected. The total area covers 4,500 square meters, with a built-up area of 1,180 square meters.

The east courtyard is a small quadrangle-style compound where Xie Futing and Niu Yin'guan, the former principal and deputy directors of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Administrative Office, lived and worked for a long time. In the center of the north side of the courtyard are three cave dwellings built against the mountain, with one more cave attached to the east side. There are two cave dwellings on each side of the east and west wings. The original southern part had several ordinary tile-roofed houses, which were rebuilt into a brick-and-wood exhibition hall in the 1970s. The southeast corner of the courtyard features a brick gate.

The west courtyard was originally Niu Youlan’s backyard garden, locally known as the “Garden Courtyard.” After the 120th Division and the Shanxi-Suiyuan Military Region Command moved into this yard in December 1941, key military leaders such as He Long and Lü Zhengcao resided here for a long time. In the spring of 1948, when Mao Zedong, - , and Ren Bishi led the Central Committee to move to Xibaipo, they stayed here briefly. The north side of the courtyard has six cave dwellings built against the mountain, each with a front corridor. The northwest cave dwelling served as an auditorium added later by the military region command. To the southwest of the courtyard are eight tile-roofed houses that served as the guard platoon's quarters. It was in these simple cave dwellings and rooms that Mao Zedong presided over the famous “Shanxi-Suiyuan Cadres Conference” and the “Talk with the Editors of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Daily.” In the center of the courtyard stands the “Six Willow Pavilion,” also known as the “Hexagonal Pavilion,” personally designed and planted with trees by Comrade He Long. It consists of six willow trees, a stone table, and stone stools, arranged in a hexagonal shape.

A memorial hall was established here in 1962. It is now a patriotic education base for Shanxi Province, Lvliang Prefecture, and Xing County.

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units