Site of the Frontline Command Post of the Third Battalion of the Guangdong People’s Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Forces

Site of the Frontline Command Post of the Third Battalion of the Guangdong People’s Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Forces

The Site of the Frontline Command Post of the Third Battalion of the Guangdong People’s Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Forces is a cultural heritage site protected by Dongguan City.

The Site of the Frontline Command Post of the Third Battalion of the Guangdong People’s Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Forces is located at the Guanyin Temple on Guanyin Mountain in Dalingshan Town. The mountain is named after its resemblance to a lion lying down—said to be the mount of the bodhisattva Guanyin—and also features rocks that look like a seated image of Guanyin. In front of the mountain there is a huge rock shaped like a military drum, which is why the mountain is also called Gonggulou Mountain. A Guanyin Temple has been built halfway up the mountain. GPS coordinates: 22°53'07.9", 113°47'52.5", elevation 119.3 meters.

On June 1, 1941, Kuomintang die-hard troops launched attacks on Dalingshan from two directions: one force, consisting of two battalions under Liu Guang and Yang Canhua stationed at Jinjuling, advanced toward Taigongling and Baihualong, where they were intercepted by the Dahuadui and Humen squads of the Third Battalion of the Guangdong People’s Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Forces along with local militia self-defense teams on Changpaipo. The other force, over 150 troops of the Huang Wenguang battalion, moved from Dalang through Yangwu and arrived at Datang Village around 10 a.m. Due to poor coordination between the two KMT forces, the Huang Wenguang unit hesitated to push into Dawangling and instead prepared to move toward Niuguling and Ailingkan to link up with the Liu Guang and Yang Canhua forces. Commanders of the Third Battalion ordered the Shilong and Railway squads of the Fifth Battalion to quickly move to Datang to strike the enemy. The Shilong squad launched an attack on the enemy from the hill behind Niuguling Village, forcing the Huang Wenguang troops to fight while retreating. The Shilong squad relentlessly pursued the enemy. Soon after, the Railway squad arrived and opened fire with heavy machine guns, driving the Huang Wenguang troops to take cover in the dense pine forest behind Ailingkan Village. The counterattack continued into the afternoon, eventually repelling the KMT die-hard forces. The battle resulted in five or six enemy casualties. A soldier of the Shilong squad, Zeng Zhiqiang (from Kushudong, Qingxi), was killed in action. The Guanyin Temple built halfway up the mountain served as the frontline command post of the Third Battalion of the Guangdong People’s Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Forces during the battle.

In 1982, villagers from Dapianmei Village in Dalingshan Town demolished and rebuilt the Guanyin Temple on the original site. In June 1993, it was designated as a cultural heritage site protected by Dongguan City.