Site of the Former Dongping Commune in Shahe

Site of the Former Dongping Commune in Shahe

The site of the former Dongping Commune is a cultural relic protection unit of Tianhe District.

The site of the former Dongping Commune is located in Yantang, Shahe Town. Constructed in the 23rd year of the Daoguang reign (1843) and renovated in the final years of the Guangxu reign (1908), it is an important historical site from the First Opium War period.

After the people of nearby villages around Sanyuanli mounted a large-scale resistance against British invaders in Niulangang and adjacent areas north of Guangzhou City in May 1841, residents from over 240 villages in the northeastern suburbs of the provincial capital, as well as in Huaxian, Zengcheng, and Conghua, under the advocacy of gentry members such as Wang Shaoguang and Gao Liangcai, and with the approval of the Viceroy of Liangguang, established the Dongping Commune in Shaliyuan, modeled after the Shengping Commune of Shijing Township. Its purpose was to arm both local and Hakka people in jointly resisting foreign aggression. Other key leaders included Zhong Zhanqi, Xie Xi'en, and Zhou Bingjun. After its establishment, the Dongping Commune connected eastward with Loubu and Dongpu townships, and northward with Conghua, Zengcheng, and Huaxian, forming a strategic pincer with the Shengping Commune.

The site still retains its main gate plaque inscribed with “Dongping Commune, Constructed in the 23rd Year of Daoguang, Inscribed by Cheng? (a character resembling 橘 but without the ‘wood’ radical) Cai,” and stone gate couplets reading: “The northeast is firmly rooted like mulberry trees; peace and prosperity rise in elegant praise.” The left and right gate plaques are inscribed respectively with

“Left Stores Armaments” and “Right Stores Grain.” Additionally, four stone steles are preserved on-site, among which the “Stele Record of the Founding of the Dongping Commune” was moved to the Stele Corridor of the Guangzhou Museum in 1963. The site is currently used by Dongping Primary School.

Yantang Community: Yantang Community Residents' Committee

The Yantang Community Residents' Committee is located at No. 128 Yanxing Road, in the central part of Xinghua Subdistrict. The jurisdiction covers an area of approximately 0.5 square kilometers, with boundaries extending east from Yanling Road—from Yanling Building to the Heinz Company section; south bounded by the west wall of Tianhongge Residential Compound, bordering Xinghua Residents' Committee; west to the Blind School, Provincial Trade School, Matigang Village, and the north wall of Yinhe Development Company; north from the intersection of Sha-Tai Road and Yin-Yan Road to the interchange with Beihuan Expressway. The community has a total of 3,350 resident households and a population of 11,500, including ... For detailed information about Yantang Community++