Former Site of the Command Post for the Rescue of Hong Kong Cultural Figures (Fujian Guild Hall in Old Long)

Former Site of the Command Post for the Rescue of Hong Kong Cultural Figures (Fujian Guild Hall in Old Long)

The former site of the command post for the rescue of Hong Kong cultural figures (Fujian Guild Hall in Old Long) is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit, a classic red tourism attraction, and a base for patriotic education.

The former site of the command post for the rescue of Hong Kong cultural figures is the Fujian Guild Hall, located at No. 39 Huaxin Road, Longchuan County, Old Long Town. Constructed during the Qing Dynasty, it served as a guild hall for merchants from Fujian. The building faces southeast and is laid out in a traditional three-courtyard style, with walls of rammed lime-sand, flush gable roofs, gray tile coverings, and lime-sand flooring. It is 15 meters wide and 38 meters deep, covering a construction area of 570 square meters. The front eaves of the main gate are supported by two stone pillars, and the door frame, threshold, doorsteps, and wooden door leaves are all made of bluestone. The central hall features a lifted-beam roof structure with fifteen beams. The front section of the upper hall includes a breezeway and stone pillars. The guild hall boasts exquisite architectural design, fine carvings, and a classic old-world charm.

The Fujian Guild Hall is located at No. 39 Huaxin Road, Longchuan County. Built during the Qing Dynasty as a guild hall for merchants from Fujian, it has a three-courtyard layout and covers a total width of 15 meters and depth of 38 meters, with a built-up area of 570 square meters. In 2011, the Longchuan County Party Committee and County Government invested over 6 million yuan to renovate the main structure of the guild hall, complete the revolutionary historical exhibition, carry out land acquisition and demolition of surrounding residential buildings, and build the Longchuan Liberation Square.

The Fujian Guild Hall is richly adorned with carved beams and painted rafters, holding significant architectural and historical artistic research value. It also bears revolutionary commemorative importance: in 1923, Peng Pai stayed here twice to rescue peasant movement cadres; in 1925, it served as the command post for the left-wing forces of the Eastern Expedition Army; in 1941, it was a transit point for the rescue of Hong Kong cultural figures; and on June 1, 1949, the People’s Government of Longchuan County was established here.

According to the "History of the Communist Party of China in Longchuan", the "Fujian Guild Hall" was one of the important sites for the Party’s early revolutionary activities. From the spring of 1923 to the autumn of 1925, Peng Pai, a renowned leader of the peasant movement during the province's Great Revolution period, stayed at the "Fujian Guild Hall" twice to propagate revolutionary ideas and sow the seeds of the peasant movement. Additionally, the Fujian Guild Hall was also one of the command posts for the world-shocking "Hong Kong Rescue Operation". In 1942, after the Japanese captured Hong Kong, a large number of democratic and progressive cultural figures were stranded there. Under the leadership and command of the Communist Party of China, they were safely evacuated from Hong Kong to the rear areas. Lian Guan, one of the heads of the Eighth Route Army Hong Kong Office and one of the leaders of the “Hong Kong Rescue”, resided at the “Fujian Guild Hall”, meticulously arranging and commanding the transfer of these democratic and cultural figures. Over 300 well-known cultural and patriotic democratic figures trapped in Hong Kong—including He Xiangning, Mao Dun, Zou Taofen, Xia Yan, Fan Changjiang, and Liao Mosha—traversed through enemy lines, traveled northward by boat along the Dong River, and were safely transferred to the transit point in Old Long Town, Longchuan County. They were accommodated in shops near the “Fujian Guild Hall” such as “Yifu Hang” and “Qiaoxing Hang”, and were safely evacuated from Hong Kong. The “Hong Kong Rescue” was hailed by the famous writer Mao Dun as “the greatest rescue operation since the start of the Anti-Japanese War”.

During the First Revolutionary Civil War period, the “Fujian Guild Hall” served as a temporary command post for the Eastern Expedition Army, where Chen Jiongming, Chiang Kai-shek, Cheng Qian, and Lin Boqu successively stayed. On June 1, 1949, the People’s Government of Longchuan County was officially established at the “Fujian Guild Hall” in Longchuan. Over the decades, the guild hall has been used as office space by the Old Long Town Government, the Old Long Town People’s Court, the Old Long Town Government Kindergarten, and the Longchuan County Old Long Town Plastic Factory, falling into disrepair over time.

In April 2011, the Longchuan County Government began renovating this red revolutionary site, completing the restoration of the Fujian Guild Hall in July of the same year. The guild hall now serves as an exhibition room for important historical materials related to the “Hong Kong Rescue” and other local revolutionary events from the Great Revolution period. It holds both architectural historical and artistic research value as well as revolutionary commemorative significance. In 1986, it was listed as a County-Level Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit by the Longchuan County Government; in 2010, it was designated as a Third Batch Patriotic Education Base of Heyuan City. In 2012, it was announced by the People’s Government of Guangdong Province as a Seventh Batch Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

On October 7, 2019, the former site of the command post for the rescue of Hong Kong cultural figures (Fujian Guild Hall in Old Long) was included in the Eighth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Further Reading:

·Seventh Batch of Guangdong Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

·Eighth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units