Dongshan Temple – Site of the Dongbao Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army Leadership Headquarters

Dongshan Temple – Site of the Dongbao Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army Leadership Headquarters

Dongshan Temple – Site of the Dongbao Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army Leadership Headquarters is located on Dongshan Mountain opposite Pingshan Community in Dalang Town, Dongguan.

On May 28, 1928, the Chinese Communist Party organizations of Dongguan, Shilong, and Bao’an held a joint meeting at Dongshan Temple. They decided to center their activities around Dongshan, which lies at the border of Dongguan and Bao’an, and expand outward into the adjacent areas of both counties, implementing armed separatism and carrying out a land revolution. The county party committee heads of Dongguan and Bao’an moved into Dongshan and set up their leadership headquarters in Dongshan Temple. Some armed forces led by the two county party organizations also advanced into Dongshan. In accordance with the Red Army’s organizational system, the assembled forces were reorganized into formal Red Army units, preparing to begin with guerrilla warfare and gradually expand the Red Army and the Red Guards. On one hand, they sent personnel to carry out efforts to undermine the Nationalist army, attempting to incite soldier uprisings; on the other hand, they penetrated nearby rural areas around Dongshan, distributing propaganda materials to promote the land revolution, punishing extremely wicked local tyrants and evil gentry as well as counter-revolutionary elements. Due to the severe counter-revolutionary repression at the time and the relentless advance of government troops, the Red Army forces found themselves in an extremely passive situation. Ammunition and supplies could not be secured, and the masses could not be mobilized. As a result, they were forced to halt the armed separatist movement, dispersing personnel and weapons.

During the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Dongguan Anti-Japanese Model Militia also stationed at Dongshan. In November 1938, when Japanese forces swept through Dongguan, Wang Zuoyao and Yuan Jianwen led more than 50 members of the Dongguan Anti-Japanese Model Team to retreat to Dongshan. They stayed at Dongshan Temple on the side of Pingshan and moved to Zhangge at the Dongbao border by the end of the year.

The existing Dongshan Temple was rebuilt in 1996, covering an area of over 100 square meters. It includes one temple hall with a roof tiled with clay tiles and walls made of red bricks. In front of the temple remains a flowing well that once provided drinking water for guerrilla fighters. The water is sweet and refreshing, and visitors often try a sip to experience the life of the guerrillas back then.

Pingshan Community: Pingshan Community

Pingshan Community is located in the southern part of Dalang Town, bordered by Xinmalian to the east, by Dongshan Mountain — the highest peak in Dalang — to the south, and by Shuiping to the west. It is about 7 kilometers from the center of Dalang Town, covering an area of 2.2 square kilometers. The community is named for being surrounded by mountains on three sides, with the mountain shapes resembling overlapping fans or a mirror screen. The registered population is 489, mainly from the Han, Liang, and Zhou families. Among them, the Han family moved here from Shilong’s Shilongkeng during the Ming Dynasty’s Jiajing era, the Liang family came from Changping’s Banshi, and the Zhou family migrated from Changping’s Wusha in the early Qing Dynasty. In 2006, the total industrial and agricultural output value of the community was 2... More detailed information about Pingshan Community ++