Dongchong Arsenal

Dongchong Arsenal

Dongchong Arsenal is located at the Chen Family Ancestral Hall beneath Sandouling in Xinlian Village, Caobo Township. In the autumn of 1930, the Red Army converted this ancestral hall into a Soviet-era arsenal, manufacturing weapons such as spears, broadswords, and pine-tree cannons. In 1972, the county allocated funds for its restoration, and in 1983, it was designated as a county-level cultural heritage site.

Marshal Peng Dehuai once fought bravely here

During the Jinggangshan Revolutionary Base period, the areas of Bashi and Caobo in Youxian County were part of the Red Army’s revolutionary base. In 1930, the Youxian County Soviet Government transformed the local Chen Family Ancestral Hall into the Soviet-era Dongchong Arsenal. This arsenal provided strong weaponry support for defending the Jinggangshan Revolutionary Base. Inside the factory, seven small iron furnaces and three gun-repair racks were set up to repair firearms and manufacture weapons such as spears, broadswords, daggers, and pine-tree cannons. Subsequently, military barracks, a headquarters, a Lenin Primary School, and a Red Army hospital were built around the arsenal, forming a relatively concentrated red revolutionary base. For a time, it became an important military stronghold for the Red Army. The establishment of the arsenal also drew fierce attacks from enemy forces. To defend the base, Red Army leaders such as Marshal Peng Dehuai, Wang Shoudao, Tan Zhenlin, and Xiao Ke all fought bravely here. It has been included in the National Red Tourism Premium Route.

Since 2004, Youxian County has been renovating the arsenal, constructing monuments, martyr wax museums, and war simulation facilities on the site. As of yesterday, the first phase of the renovation work covering 1,000 square meters of the Soviet-era Dongchong Arsenal has been completed.

Previously, the National Tourism Administration announced 30 national premium red tourism routes, among which the eighth route is Jinggangshan—Yongxin—Chaling—Zhuzhou. The restored Dongchong Arsenal has become an important attraction along this red tourism route.