The Erka Underground Transportation Station of the Soviet Red Army General Staff Scenic Area

The Erka Underground Transportation Station of the Soviet Red Army General Staff Scenic Area

The Erka Underground Transportation Station of the Soviet Red Army General Staff Scenic Area is a classic red tourism destination.

　In 1931, after the September 18th Incident, the Intelligence Bureau of the Soviet Red Army General Staff ordered the Fourth Department (Intelligence Department) of the Far Eastern Red Banner Army Command in Khabarovsk to establish an intelligence network in Northeast China to gather military intelligence on the Japanese imperialists. To jointly oppose Japanese imperialism, the 0 Manchurian Provincial Committee decided to establish, together with the Khabarovsk Intelligence Department of the Soviet Army, an intelligence network centered in Qiqihar to obtain information on the activities of the Japanese invading forces. The person in charge of the Qiqihar underground military intelligence station was Su Ziyuan, a native of Liaozhong County, Liaoning Province. He joined the Chinese 0 in 1925 and had been engaged in underground party work in the Northeast. In 1927, he was sent by the Party organization to study at the Lenin School in Vladivostok, Soviet Union. In 1931, Su Ziyuan became a member of the Soviet 0. Dispatched by the Intelligence Department of the Far Eastern Red Banner Army Command in Khabarovsk, Su Ziyuan returned to the Northeast to establish an intelligence network. Together with his wife Zhu Shaohua, who was responsible for radio operations, he brought a radio back to Harbin. However, due to the strict control of Harbin by the Japanese invaders at the time, it was not easy to carry out work there. Qiqihar, being both a key military site for the enemy and relatively close to the national border, was deemed more suitable for setting up a station. After reporting these conditions, his superiors approved the establishment of an intelligence station in Qiqihar. To cover their underground activities, they set up the “Longjiang Hospital” as the central liaison station for the intelligence operation. After the hospital was established, Su Ziyuan continued to connect with revolutionary comrades and expand the organization.

　Su Ziyuan used various reliable connections to establish several transportation points in Qiqihar, Shenyang, and Harbin. At the same time, he built an intelligence transportation network in places close to the Soviet border such as Zhalainuoer, Erka, Suifenhe, and Luobei, and opened six safe routes for escorting people to the Soviet Union: the first was the Manzhouli border; the second was the Zhalainuoer and Erka border; the third was the Aihui border; the fourth was the Luobei border; the fifth was the Suifenhe border; and the sixth was the Jiamusi border. Each time couriers went to the Soviet Union to deliver intelligence, the route was designated by their superiors.

　From 1932 to 1937, Su Ziyuan established transportation and liaison stations in Zhalainuoer and Erka. The person in charge of the Zhalainuoer station was a coal miner named Wang Jiuan, while the person in charge of the Erka station was a farmer who grew vegetables. Both stations worked for the Soviet Army and had no contact with our Party. During this period, Su Ziyuan traveled to Aotepoer, across from Manzhouli, and Aguitu, across from Erka, to deliver intelligence and conduct liaison work. When delivering intelligence from the Erka station to Aguitu in the Soviet Union, in summer they would wade across at shallow points, and sometimes even disguised as grass-cutting farmers to secretly cross the border into the Soviet Union. In winter, they took advantage of the frozen rivers and snow-covered land, avoiding the guards’ sight under the cover of darkness to cross the ice and deliver intelligence into the Soviet Union.

　In 1934, Su Ziyuan sent Wang Jiuan to the Soviet Union for studies, and the Zhalainuoer transportation station was no longer used. After 1937, as the Japanese invaders intensified their investigation and suppression of underground anti-Japanese organizations, the situation became very tense. Especially when transportation stations in places like Qiqihar were destroyed and traitors revealed the identities of station leaders, the Japanese launched frenzied large-scale arrests. To ensure the safety of the station staff, Su Ziyuan promptly notified the comrades at the Erka station to evacuate, and the Erka station was no longer used afterward.