Memorial Hall of Peng Zhen’s Life and the Former Site of the Taiyuan Branch of the CPC

Memorial Hall of Peng Zhen’s Life and the Former Site of the Taiyuan Branch of the CPC

The Memorial Hall of Peng Zhen’s Life and the Former Site of the Taiyuan Branch of the CPC is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit and a classic red tourism destination.

The Memorial Hall of Peng Zhen’s Life and the Former Site of the Taiyuan Branch of the CPC is located on the southern shore of Wenying Lake in Wenying Park, Taiyuan City, covering an area of 10 mu with a construction area of 5,820 square meters. Originally the examination hall (gongyuan) of Shanxi Province during the Ming and Qing dynasties, it became the site of the Shanxi Public Middle School in 1906, which was renamed the First Provincial Middle School of Shanxi in 1913. The Provincial No. 1 Middle School has a glorious revolutionary tradition—it was the birthplace of the Communist and Young Communist organizations in Taiyuan and Shanxi Province, often referred to as the “South Lake” of Shanxi’s revolutionary history, holding great significance in the development of the Communist Party of China. During the May Fourth Movement, progressive students from the Provincial No. 1 Middle School, together with those from other schools, fought resolutely against the authorities and achieved victory. A large number of early communists and proletarian revolutionaries, including Gao Junyu, Wang Zhenyi, He Chang, Wang Ying, Zhang Shuping, Zhang Youqing, and Peng Zhen, studied and engaged in revolutionary activities at the school. In May 1921, the Taiyuan Socialist Youth League, with the aim of “awakening the working class and transforming society,” was established at the Provincial No. 1 Middle School, becoming the first youth league organization in Shanxi Province. In May 1924, Gao Junyu, commissioned by the Northern Bureau of the CPC and Li Dazhao, set up the Taiyuan Party Group of the CPC (later renamed the Taiyuan Branch of the CPC) at the school, which was also the first communist party organization in Shanxi Province. In October 2002, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Comrade Peng Zhen’s birth, the Shanxi Provincial Party Committee and Government built the Former Site of the Taiyuan Branch of the CPC Memorial Hall here. On April 27, 2010, with the approval of the central government, it was officially named the Memorial Hall of Peng Zhen’s Life and the Former Site of the Taiyuan Branch of the CPC. In 2002, it was designated as a Patriotic Education Base by the Provincial Party Committee and Government; in 2004, it was listed as a Provincial Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit by the Shanxi Provincial People’s Government; in 2009, it was rated as a “National Second-Class Museum” by the National Cultural Heritage Administration; and in September 2009, it was designated as a National Defense Education Base by the Provincial Party Committee, Government, and Military Region.

In May 2013, the Memorial Hall of Peng Zhen’s Life and the Former Site of the Taiyuan Branch of the CPC was included in the seventh batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Address: No. 99 Haizibian East Street, Yingze District, Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province (within Wenying Park)

Further Reading:

· China National Second-Class Museum

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units