Former Residence Site of the Allied Journalists' Group on their Route

Former Residence Site of the Allied Journalists' Group on their Route

The Former Residence Site of the Allied Journalists' Group on their Route is located in Panjiayuan Village, Majiazhai Township, Loufan County, covering a building area of 366 square meters. In June 1944, a delegation of Chinese and foreign journalists visited Yan'an. In August, a group comprising journalists such as Israel Epstein, Harrison Forman, and Morris Votaw formed the Allied Journalists' Group to tour the Jin-Sui Base Area. On August 30, the group arrived at the headquarters of the Jin-Sui Military Region. On September 4, they proceeded to the Eighth Sub-district of Jin-Sui, close to Taiyuan. After witnessing a night raid on Fenyang City and the capture of the Xiehe Fort stronghold, on September 22, the group set off from Guantou, the location of the Eighth Sub-district headquarters, to Loufan, where they observed battles by our troops and civilians besieging the enemy stronghold in Loufan. On the 25th, the Allied journalists witnessed the assault on the Loufan stronghold. Later, the Allied Journalists' Group left the Eighth Sub-district for the Third Sub-district of Jin-Sui. After the tour, American journalist Harrison Forman wrote the internationally sensational report “Report from Red China,” one chapter of which described the Eighth Route Army guerrillas’ attack on the Loufan stronghold. During their stay in Loufan, the Allied Journalists' Group stayed en route in villages such as Panjiayuan and Xiling. The former residence sites in Panjiayuan and Xiling Villages are still well preserved today.

“Report from Red China,” also translated as “North China Front,” was authored by Harrison Forman, who was born in 1898 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, and passed away in 1978. In 1944, Forman, as a journalist for United Press and The Times, visited the liberated areas of Northern Shaanxi and Jin-Sui. Upon returning to the U.S., he wrote “Report from Red China,” which objectively introduced the politics, economy, culture, and education in Yan'an, the Shaan-Gan-Ning Border Region, and the Jin-Sui Border Region, as well as the heroic struggle of the military and civilians united in resisting Japan. “North China Front” is hailed as the sister work of “Red Star Over China.”

Panjiayuan Village: Located in the southern part of Majiazhai Township, Loufan County, Panjiayuan Village is 12 kilometers from the county seat. The village has 303 households, a population of 1,206, 28 Party members, and a two-committee team of 4 members. It covers a land area of 3,780 mu, including 1,672 mu of arable land and 2,000 mu of returned farmland, with industries mainly focused on planting, services, and migrant work.

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