Ronghuai Building

Ronghuai Building

Ronghuai Building is located in Sanyuan Village, Zhuanshui Town, Wuhua County. It was built during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty by Wen Ronghuai, a former governor of Guangdong. It is a typical Hakka enclosed roundhouse, featuring a five-bay, three-courtyard layout. On the left and right sides are wing rooms, while the back is enclosed by a surrounding roundhouse. There is a screen wall in front of the main gate, with side gates leading to the wing rooms. The structure is made of brick and wood, and the words “Ronghuai Building” are inscribed above the main gate. In the central hall, there are two stone-carved pillars, and the middle hall features wooden carved lattice screens at the front and back. The entire building remains well-preserved to this day.

Ronghuai Building has a glorious and long revolutionary history. In March 1925, Comrade Zhou Enlai, then director of the Political Department of the Eastern Expeditionary Army, led troops in a campaign against the warlord Chen Jiongming. When stationed in Huacheng Town, Wuhua, he appointed Wen Qipan, a democrat born in Ronghuai Building, as the first county magistrate of Wuhua. Together, they established the Wuhua County Democratic Revolutionary Government and mobilized the masses and teachers and students to join the revolution. During his tenure, Wen Qipan led with integrity, eradicated corruption, and reformed local governance. Later, when the retreating remnants of Chen Jiongming’s forces raided Wuhua and looted Wen’s home, the people of Jiaying (a historical region) specially presented a plaque inscribed with “Good Governance and Good Education” in recognition of his contributions.

During the Liberation War, the Wuhua County revolutionary armed forces, led by Gu Dacun, then secretary of the CPC Central-South Bureau, were stationed here multiple times, using Ronghuai Building as their base to carry out underground revolutionary work. This effort nurtured a number of revolutionary cadres such as Deng Qiyu and Guo Hanbang. After the founding of New China, Ronghuai Building was designated by the Wuhua County Party Committee and County Government as a “Revolutionary Base and Historic Sacred Site,” and later approved by the People's Government of Guangdong Province as the “Birthplace of China’s Guerrilla Revolutionary Bases.” At the same time, Ronghuai Building is also the birthplace of Wen Rongsheng, a renowned master of Chinese liquor brewing who later moved to Luzhou, Sichuan. There, he brewed Luzhou Laojiao, which became one of China’s “Four Famous Liquors” and won an international gold medal at the Panama Exposition. The brewing workshop inside the large roundhouse still preserves wine vats and brewing tools. Therefore, Ronghuai Building is also an important historical site for studying Chinese brewing culture.

In 2010, the People's Government of Guangdong Province listed it as a part of the Sixth Batch of Guangdong Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Sanyuan Village: Sanyuan Village in Wuhua County, Meizhou City, is located in Zhuanshui Town, Wuhua County. Our village administers 22 villager groups, with 877 registered households and a population of 4,185. The total area of the village is 11.6 square kilometers, including 1,800 mu of arable land. The average annual temperature is 26°C, and the annual rainfall is about 1,000 mm, featuring a subtropical climate. Major cash crops include peanuts, sweet potatoes, and soybeans. The village’s distinctive economic income comes from oil tea. In the previous year, the village’s total rural economic income was 21.97 million yuan. Over 400 mu of land have been developed for oil tea cultivation, and 15 mu for soybean planting. …  More detailed information about Sanyuan Village++

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of Guangdong Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units