Battlefield Site of the Red Seventh Army at Yingyang Pass

Battlefield Site of the Red Seventh Army at Yingyang Pass

The Battlefield Site of the Red Seventh Army at Yingyang Pass is a Guangdong Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit and a classic red tourism destination.

Yingyang Pass is a historically significant and strategically situated mountain pass. According to the Annals of Lianshan, Yue Fei, a renowned general of the Northern Song Dynasty, once garrisoned here. During the Taiping Rebellion, Hong Xiuquan and Shi Dakai led their troops in a three-day and three-night fierce battle at this pass, leaving behind the “Ancient Battlefield of the Taiping Rebellion and the Thirty-Six Tombs” site. Remnants of the trenches and fortifications from those times can still be found today. More importantly, it is a place where visitors can trace the revolutionary path of the Red Seventh Army under Deng Xiaoping’s leadership: On the night of January 17, 1931, the Red Seventh Army, led by Deng Xiaoping, consisting of the 55th and 58th regiments as part of a strategic relocation, entered the territory of Lianshan from Guangxi via Yingyang Pass. Here, they buried a number of mountain guns and rifles that were inconvenient to carry. After launching the famous Baise Uprising and Longzhou Uprising, they were instructed by the Central Committee to move toward the Xiaobeijiang area of northern Guangdong.

Straddling three provinces (regions), Yingyang Pass is located 23 kilometers northwest of Lianshan County. The journey there features continuous mountain ranges, dense forests, and flowing rivers. Yingyang Pass has always been a strategic military location: Shi Dakai of the Taiping Rebellion once fought a major battle here, leaving behind ancient battlefield relics; the Red Seventh Army also battled here, with remnants of their trenches still visible. The construction of the tunnel section at Yingyang Pass will transform the previously isolated transport conditions and greatly enhance economic and cultural exchanges between Guangdong and Guangxi.

Yingyang Pass is also an important route on our province's red tourism trail, attracting numerous visitors each year.

It turns out that on the evening of January 17, 1931, a unit of about 200 soldiers ascended Yingyang Pass and entered Guangdong. This unit was a small detachment of the Seventh Army of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, led by Deng Xiaoping, who served as the army’s political commissar. After launching the famous Baise Uprising and Longzhou Uprising, they were instructed by the Central Committee to move toward the Xiaobeijiang area of northern Guangdong.

Further Reading:

· Ninth Batch of Guangdong Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units