Site of the Kuomintang Dongguan County Government during the War of Resistance Against Japan

Site of the Kuomintang Dongguan County Government during the War of Resistance Against Japan

The site of the Kuomintang Dongguan County Government in the early stages of the War of Resistance Against Japan is located within Shixin Yangxian School in Zhangmutou Town. GPS coordinates: 22°54'19.6"N, 114°04'58.0"E, elevation 10 meters.

Yangxian School was built in 1930 as a building that blends Chinese and Western architectural styles, facing south with its back to the north. In November 1938, when Guancheng fell and both ends of the Guangzhou–Kowloon Railway were occupied by Japanese forces, the middle section from Pinghu to Hengli, consisting of nine stations, was entirely under the control of anti-Japanese troops. At that time, over 10,000 Kuomintang defending troops and local forces were stationed here, prompting both the Dongguan and Bao'an county governments to relocate to Shima Market in Zhangmutou. The Dongguan County Government moved into Yangxian School, located to the north of Shima Market. Staff of the Dongguan County Government and the county’s Kuomintang Party Department, including Magistrate Zhang Wodong of Dongguan County and Party Department Secretary Xiang Difang, worked here. At the time, departments such as the Guangdong Provincial Treasury of the Kuomintang, the Telegraph Bureau of the Ministry of Communications, and the military headquarters were also relocated near Yangxian School, making Zhangmutou and Shima the political, economic, and military center of Dongguan. In 1943, after the Japanese forces reopened the Guangzhou–Kowloon Railway line, the Kuomintang county Party Department and government moved to Zhenlong in Huizhou. In January 1945, they moved to Tutan in Changping and remained there until after the surrender of Japanese forces, when they returned to Guancheng. In the spring of 1945, the Japanese 129th Division was ordered to secretly move south from Changsha and stationed in areas around Danshui in Huizhou County and along the Guangzhou–Kowloon Railway line to counter the U.S. fleet in South China. At that time, the headquarters of the Japanese 129th Division was stationed at Yangxian School. In October 1949, Zhangmutou Township and Shima Township merged to form Zhangshi Township, and the founding ceremony was held at Yangxian School in February 1950. In April 1958, Zhangmutou Agricultural Middle School was established as an annex to Yangxian School. It was later converted into an elementary school enrolling children from the Shixin and Baodi communities. Starting in 2000, it became a private school, retaining the same name.

Zhangmutou Town: Covering a total area of 118.8 square kilometers, Zhangmutou Town is located in the southeastern part of Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, in the central area of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Huizhou, and Dongguan. Provincial highways Guanhui and Dongshen intersect here, while the HuiChang and Dongcong expressways pass through the jurisdiction. The Changhu, Longlin, and Dongshen expressways all serve Zhangmutou. The town has both long-distance and short-distance bus stations, serving as a transit hub for road passenger transport in surrounding towns. The Guangzhou–Shenzhen and Beijing–Kowloon railways, as well as the Guangmei–Shantou Railway, run through the area, with the train station handling 113 trains daily. The town governs nine communities, with a permanent population of 23,000 and over 130,000 new residents from Dongguan... More detailed information about Zhangmutou Town++