Bairen Temple on Luofu Mountain

Bairen Temple — the former site of the Political Department of the East River Column is located east of the administrative committee of Boluo County’s Luofu Mountain Scenic Area. Bairen Temple is about 2.5 kilometers from Chongxu Temple and was the Eastern Hermitage established by Ge Hong during his cultivation on Luofu Mountain. The Taoist temple buildings were reconstructed in the late Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty but were later destroyed in 1955. Currently, the local garrison has built the Songhe Temple Guesthouse on the site of the temple, which is a military restricted area. The former site of Bairen Temple is now a military zone and cannot be entered. Access is only possible by taking a detour through Magufeng Village.

In December 1943, the East River Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Force, which had gradually grown stronger during the guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines in South China, established the East River Column in accordance with directives from the Central Committee. With the development of anti-Japanese armed forces behind enemy lines and the full restoration of activities by the East River Party organization, in July 1944, the East River Column established an anti-Japanese base centered around Luofu Mountain. In May 1945, the Guangdong Provincial Temporary Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, the East River Military and Political Committee, as well as the headquarters, political department, and logistics organs of the East River Column successively moved into Luofu Mountain, with the political department stationed at Bairen Temple. On June 15 of the same year, Yang Kanghua, director of the Political Department of the East River Column, presided over a national affairs symposium at Bairen Temple. Representatives from Zengcheng, Longmen, and Boluo attended to discuss the establishment of anti-Japanese democratic county governments and strategies for resisting Japan and saving the nation. Yang Kanghua, representing the political department, nominated and the meeting approved Han Jiyuan, director of the Political Department of the Fifth Detachment of the East River Column, as the magistrate of the Boluo County Anti-Japanese Democratic Government. A county political committee composed of representatives from all walks of life was also appointed to decide on county governance policies and oversee administrative work. In October 1945, in line with the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party’s directive to disperse and hold ground, the Political Department of the East River Column, along with the leadership organs of the Guangdong Provincial Committee and the East River Column, left Luofu Mountain and relocated to Dapeng Peninsula.