Hengshen Chen Ancestral Hall — Site of the Office of the Dongguan County Working Committee of the CPC

Hengshen Chen Ancestral Hall — Site of the Office of the Dongguan County Working Committee of the CPC

Hengshen Chen Ancestral Hall — Site of the Office of the Dongguan County Working Committee of the CPC is located in Wangjiao Village, Shanghe, Wangniudun Town. GPS coordinates: 23°04'10.7"N, 113°39'23.7"E, elevation: -5 meters.

In October 1936, the Dongguan Special Branch of the CPC was established, under the leadership of the Guangdong Working Committee of the CPC. This marked the re-establishment of the Dongguan local organization of the CPC after a seven-year interruption, allowing the activities of the Dongguan Party organization to resume. In April 1937, the Guangdong Working Committee of the CPC sent Mai Pufei to Wangjiao Village, Wangniudun, Dongguan County, to oversee the establishment of the Dongguan County Working Committee of the CPC (abbreviated as the Dongguan Working Committee). The founding meeting was held at Hengshen Chen Ancestral Hall in Wangjiao Village. Xie Yangguang served as the Secretary of the Dongguan Working Committee, Zhang Ru as the Deputy Secretary, and Wang Luming (Wang Shouqi) and Lu Zhongfu as committee members. It governed five branches in Guancheng, Houjie, Gaobu, Zhongtang, and Dongkeng, with a total of 16 party members. The office of the Dongguan Working Committee was located inside Hengshen Chen Ancestral Hall in Wangjiao Village (later relocated to Lixing Primary School in Guancheng). After its establishment, the Dongguan Working Committee held a party knowledge training class in Wangjiao Village, laying the foundation for the development of party members.

The Dongguan Working Committee actively recruited new party members and expanded the organization, successively establishing the Guancheng Culture Branch, Guancheng Workers Branch, Gaobu Branch, Wangjiao Branch, and Dongguan Branch. By July 1937, the Dongguan Working Committee had over 30 party members.

In August 1937, the Guangdong Working Committee of the CPC was abolished and replaced by the Guangzhou Outer Counties Working Committee of the CPC (abbreviated as the Guangzhou Outer Counties Working Committee), which oversaw the party organizations in Guangzhou and its surrounding counties, including Dongguan.

In October of the same year, following instructions from the Guangzhou Outer Counties Working Committee, the Dongguan Working Committee was renamed the Dongguan Central Branch of the CPC. Yao Yongguang served as the Secretary of the Central Branch, with Xie Yangguang, Zhang Ru, Lu Zhongfu, and Wang Luming as branch committee members. It governed 11 branches with over 20 party members and led the party organizations in Dongguan, Bao'an, and part of Zengcheng. Its office was located at Lixing Primary School in Guancheng.

The site of the Dongguan Working Committee office is a three-bay, two-courtyard-style compound, facing southwest and backing northeast. It has a brick-and-wood structure, with a pond in front and residential houses on the other three sides. Twenty meters to the left is the Chen Family Ancestral Hall, fifty meters away is a tributary of the Dong River, fifteen meters to the right is Chaoyang Building, and 150 meters directly ahead is Shangxue Kindergarten (formerly Wangjiao Primary School). It is approximately 2.5 kilometers from the town government.