Former Site of Dongjiang Public School

Former Site of Dongjiang Public School

The former site of Dongjiang Public School is a classic red tourism destination.

The former site of Dongjiang Public School is located at Chentang Primary School in Chentang Town, Dongyuan County.

In March 1949, the Ninth Guerrilla District Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, in accordance with the instructions and requirements of the Hong Kong Bureau and the Party Committee of the Guangdong–Jiangxi–Hunan Border Region, founded the first school in the Ninth Guerrilla District for training revolutionary cadres—the Dongjiang Public School—in Chentang, Heyuan. The school was set up in Yat-sen Middle School in Chentang (now Chentang Primary School), with Zhong Xiongya appointed as principal and Dong Shiyang as the head of education. On March 7, the Dongjiang Public School officially opened, enrolling 40 students in its first term, including Ma Ming, Li Ming, Liu Liang, and Fang Zheng. After the liberation of Laolong in May 1949, the school relocated to the Laolong Normal School, enrolling 545 students in its second term. For the third term, it moved to Longchuan No. 1 Middle School in Tuocheng, Longchuan, with Tan Tiandu, Director of the Dongjiang Administrative Committee, serving as acting principal and enrolling over 700 students. On October 15, 1949, after the liberation of Huizhou, the school moved to Huizhou and merged with the Jiangnan Youth Public School, enrolling 2,182 students in its fourth term. In February 1950, the Dongjiang Public School relocated to Heyuan County, enrolling about 1,000 students in its fifth term. Graduation for the fourth and fifth terms took place in April and May, marking the conclusion of the Dongjiang Public School. Within just one year, the school held five terms, each lasting approximately two months, and trained over 5,000 students in total.

The establishment and activities of the Dongjiang Public School prepared cadres for the establishment of the people’s government and the takeover of cities.

Source: Heyuan Municipal Party History Research Office

Chentang Town: Located in the northern mountainous region of Dongyuan County, at the junction of Longchuan, Heping, and Lianping counties, Chentang Town is a remote, borderland, old, and economically underdeveloped mountainous area. The town administers 21 administrative villages and 3 neighborhood committees, with a total of 12,553 households and a population of 62,772. It covers an area of 203.3 square kilometers, with 178,000 mu of forested mountain land, making it the largest town in Dongyuan County. The town has 41,803 mu of arable land, including 30,997 mu of paddy fields, and a labor force of 27,010 people, of which 13,145 are engaged in agriculture. The local economy is primarily agricultural, with agricultural output... More details about Chentang Town++