Shen Xiasi Revolutionary Memorial Hall

Shen Xiasi Revolutionary Memorial Hall

The Shen Xiasi Revolutionary Memorial Hall is a classic red tourism destination and a patriotic education base.

The Shen Xiasi Revolutionary Memorial Hall is located on the 4th floor of the Ethnic Museum at No. 8 Renmin East Road, Zhangjiachuan Town, covering a construction area of 748.3 square meters and a usable area of 675 square meters. It is a comprehensive memorial hall primarily dedicated to collecting, promoting, educating, and exhibiting red revolutionary historical relics. The exhibition is divided into six sections: “Dawn in Longyuan,” “Risking Life and Death,” “Sparks Igniting the Prairie,” “Welcoming Liberation,” “Love for the Hometown,” and “The Legacy of Ayang.” It comprehensively showcases the heroic struggle and outstanding historical contributions of communists, represented by Shen Xiasi, in leading the Hui and Han peoples of Zhangjiachuan in the anti-Japanese salvation movement and the fight for people’s liberation. It also authentically and holistically presents the unique red revolutionary history of Zhangjiachuan.

Shen Xiasi, of Hui ethnicity, was born in March 1921 in Shanghai, with ancestral roots in Nanjing, Jiangsu. He joined the Communist Party of China in October 1938. Later, he was assigned by the Party organization to work at the Northwest China Work Committee of the CPC.

In the first lunar month of 1940, following instructions from the Party organization, Shen Xiasi began Hui education work in Sancha Town, Quxian County. Under harsh conditions, he founded the first Hui primary school in Quxian County and served as its principal. In May, Ma Dekui, the imam of the Sancha Town Mosque (a native of Zhangjiachuan), highly praised Shen Xiasi’s work and invited him to serve as a “xianglao” (mosque administrator).

In December 1941, Shen Xiasi was dispatched by the Special Committee of the Longdong Sub-region of the CPC to carry out work in Zhangjiachuan. In Zhangjiachuan, he adhered to the working guideline of “getting in, settling down, climbing up, and expanding,” promoting the Party’s policy of the Anti-Japanese National United Front to the masses while secretly developing Communist Party members. By July 1949, 522 Party members had been developed in Zhangjiachuan, including 330 Hui members, with 55 grassroots Party branches established, including 43 Hui branches and 11 Han branches.

On July 29, 1949, Majiayuan Town in Qingshui County, a key military pass in Shaan-Gansu, was liberated. Shen Xiasi, Secretary of the Qingshui (at that time Zhangjiachuan was under Qingshui County) Party Working Committee, met Comrade Wang Zhen at Huangjialing between Majiayuan Town and Yanzhujia Township, delivering important materials such as the “Qingshui County Map,” “Kuomintang County Government Defense Map,” and “Guanshan Pass Map.” Under the guidance of the troops, the first people's government in the newly liberated area of eastern Longdong—the Temporary People's Government of Yanzhadian District—was established. On July 30, the entire Zhangjiachuan region was liberated. On August 7, the Qingshui County Committee of the CPC and the County People's Government were officially established, with Shen Xiasi serving as both the County Party Secretary and the County Head.

In 1952, Shen Xiasi was transferred to serve as the United Front Work Department Minister of the Tianshui Prefectural Committee of the CPC. In 1955, he was appointed as the Commissioner of Linxia Prefecture in Gansu Province. After the establishment of the Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, he served as Deputy Party Secretary and Prefectural Governor. In 1965, he became the Deputy Director of the Gansu Provincial Planning Commission, Deputy Director of the Gansu Geological Bureau, and Acting Director. In 1978, he served as Deputy Party Secretary and Vice President of the Central Institute for Nationalities, as well as Deputy Director of the State Council’s Ethnic and Religious Affairs Commission. In 1982, he became Deputy Director, Acting Director, and then Director of the China Islamic Association. He was a member of the 6th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and a standing committee member of the 7th, 8th, and 9th CPPCCs. He served as the 5th President of the China Islamic Association and the Chief Advisor for the 6th and 7th terms. Shen Xiasi passed away in Beijing in September 2003 at the age of 82.

As the founder of the Party’s secret organization in the Zhangjiachuan region, Shen Xiasi planted the seeds of revolution in Zhangjiachuan and made indelible contributions to the ethnic liberation cause of the region. During his efforts in carrying out the anti-Japanese salvation movement and fighting bravely for national liberation in Zhangjiachuan, Shen Xiasi achieved “Five Firsts”: first, establishing the first secret Party branch in southeastern Gansu; second, forming the first Party Working Committee in southeastern Gansu; third, creating the first new ethnic political power in southeastern Gansu; fourth, pioneering the first instance in the history of the CPC of transmitting information and intelligence in minority languages; fifth, cultivating and developing the largest number of ethnic minority Party members in Gansu, where 70% of the 529 Party members were from ethnic minorities, providing a group of ethnic cadres for the liberation and construction of the Shaan-Gansu-Ning-Qing-Xin ethnic regions. Shen Xiasi also fostered “Five Types of Affection” in his work: first, comradely affection for the secret Party members who fought alongside him; second, brotherly affection for the ordinary people he protected and rescued; third, deep religious sentiment for ethnic and religious work; fourth, heartfelt care and love for the revolutionary and construction endeavors of ethnic regions; fifth, unwavering loyalty and love for the revolutionary cause of the Party’s underground organizations.

In 2013, the Shen Xiasi Revolutionary Memorial Hall was designated as a Gansu Provincial Patriotic Education Base by the Provincial Party Committee Propaganda Department.

Zhangjiachuan Town: Located in the central part of Zhangjiachuan Hui Autonomous County, Zhangjiachuan Town is the seat of the county government as well as the political, economic, cultural, and commercial hub of the entire county. Covering a total area of 90.8 square kilometers, it is where the tributaries of the Wei River, Houhe and Qingshuihe, converge. Roads such as Zhang (chuan)–Mai (ji), Zhang (chuan)–Hua (ting), Long (xian)–Zhang (chuan), and Zhang (chuan)–Cai (he) run through the town. The town administers 29 administrative villages, 168 villager groups, and 3 community neighborhood committees, with a total population of 58,246, including 46,059 agricultural residents and 12,205 non-agricultural residents... More details about Zhangjiachuan Town++