Site of the Former Headquarters of the Dongguan Water Town North District Guerrilla Unit

Site of the Former Headquarters of the Dongguan Water Town North District Guerrilla Unit

The Site of the Former Headquarters of the Dongguan Water Town North District Guerrilla Unit is located in Siyong, Sicun Village, Zhongtang Town. It was the former residence of Guo Jiangxian, the captain of the original Dongguan Water Town North District Guerrilla Unit. GPS coordinates: 23°03'06.3" N, 113°36'38.8" E, elevation 3 meters.

The building features a traditional three-bay, three-courtyard layout. The current structure is 10.6 meters wide and 16.2 meters deep. It has three bays, a flush gable roof, hipped gable walls, a combination of post-and-lintel and through-tenon beam frameworks, a recessed porch, and walls constructed from blue bricks and mud bricks.

In April 1948, following instructions from the Dongbao County Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, an expanded meeting of the Dongguan Water Town District Committee was held at Zhouliao in Li Yao’s home in Huangyong. The meeting was chaired by He Sheng (Lu Huanguang), the Propaganda Minister of the Dongguan County Committee and Secretary of the Water Town District Committee. Participants included District Committee Secretary Wang Jiping, District Committee members Zhu Jinling and Chen Chenglai, Li Yao, heads of various party branches, and key party members. The meeting decided to officially establish the North District Guerrilla Unit of the Water Town, appointing Guo Jiangxian as captain (succeeded by Zhu Chenyi in January 1949) and Zhu Houliang as political instructor.

After the expanded district committee meeting, in mid-April 1948, over 20 core members and soldiers of the guerrilla unit gathered in the banana fields of Guo Jiangxian’s home in Sizhong Village, Zhongtang, where the official establishment of the North District Guerrilla Unit of the Dongguan Water Town was announced. The unit's headquarters was set up at Guo Jiangxian’s residence, using it as a base for revolutionary activities such as propaganda, troop recruitment, guerrilla warfare, and liaison. Between spring and summer 1949, all guerrilla units in Dongguan’s Water Town were expanded and reorganized into the Jiaolong Unit, Qinglong Unit, and Guojianglong Unit of the Third Regiment, First Detachment, Guangdong-Ganxi-Jiangxi Border Column of the People’s Liberation Army.

After the liberation of Dongguan, the site remained unoccupied following Guo Jiangxian’s reassignment and fell into disrepair over time. Only the front section of the building remains today, while the rest have collapsed.

Sicun Village: Located in the northwest of Guancheng, approximately 6 kilometers southwest of Zhongtang Town Center, Sicun Village is the westernmost village within Zhongtang’s jurisdiction. Surrounded by water on three sides, it borders Malian Village to the northeast and faces Dongtai Village and Xinqi Village of Machong Town across the river to the southwest, as well as Fuan Village and Zhupingsha Village of Wangniudun Town across the river to the south. In 2006, the village covered a total area of 2.3 square kilometers, comprising four villager groups: Siyong, Dongyong, Xiyong, and Xihua. It had a registered population of 3,138 and a migrant population of 680.

I. Village Name and Historical Background…… More details about Sicun Village++