Fuju Factory Lead-Zinc Smelting Site

　　   Located 30 kilometers east of the central city, in Shibahexiang Village and Benqiao Village, Laoyingshan Town. It covers an area of 1.2 square kilometers. In front of and behind the villages, the mountains and fields are covered with piles of residue from lead and zinc smelting, some as thick as 15 meters. According to a stone tablet of the Huoshen Temple found on the street in October 1987, the Fujiu Factory was established in the 10th year of the Qianlong reign during the Qing Dynasty (1745). The factory area consisted of production and living zones. The production area was mainly located between Fujiu and Huoshaopo. The ore was primarily sourced from Renrendong, ChuanYandong, Toutang Laogongshan Guanyin Factory (now Jinzhulin), among other locations. It had an annual output of 1.8 million jin (approximately 1,080,000 pounds) of zinc, all of which were transported to Bijie and other provincial mints for coin production. According to the Qianlong-era "Bijie County Annals," the Baoqian Bureau established in Bijie “used 400,000 jin of white lead (zinc) annually, supplied from the Fujiu Factory in Shuicheng.” The living area was mainly located on the main street, which was the core of the Fujiu Factory. Factory officials and supervisors resided here. During the Xianfeng era, walls were built around the street, measuring 1.7 meters thick, 4 meters high, and over 1,000 meters long. After the Fujiu Factory ceased operations, the stones from both the inside and outside of the walls were dismantled, leaving only the rammed earth core in the middle, hence it is also called the "Earth City." Inside the city, there was a single street, 5 meters wide and over 300 meters long, connecting the two city gates on the east and west — these were the only two entrances to the city. The city originally housed official residences, a flower hall, east and west storage rooms, the Huoshen Temple, the Longwang Temple, and other structures. Outside the west gate, there was also a home for the elderly and infirm, providing shelter for laborers who were old, weak, or homeless. Nearby, a vegetable garden spanning over 300 mu (approximately 20 hectares) was developed to ensure a supply of vegetables for the factory. At that time, there were also garrison soldiers stationed to protect the factory, along with a drill ground spanning several acres. The factory affairs were managed by the Shuicheng sub-prefect. Notable factory supervisors (managers) included He Xueyan during the Jiaqing and Daoguang eras, and Xiao Biming (also known as Xiao Wanquan) during the Xianfeng era; Xiao Biming founded the “Wanquan Trading House.” Regarding the closing of the Fujiu Factory, the "Qing-Xiang Military History of Guizhou • Chapter 76 on the Rebellion of the Ripe Miao" records: In November of the 10th year of the Xianfeng reign (1860), “the Miao of Weining raided Shuicheng… the Miao occupied the Fujiu Factory.” According to descendants of Xiao Biming, when the Fujiu Factory fell, his ancestor had advance warning and escaped to Shuicheng. The leader of the garrison soldiers, Yang Xigui, died in battle. This conflict can be inferred as the direct cause of the factory’s closure.

　　　　   This site is one of the few large factories in Guizhou at the time and one of the notable lead and zinc smelting sites in the province, holding significant value for the study of the mining history and social development of the province and city. It was designated as a county-level cultural heritage protection unit on June 3, 1989, and as a municipal-level cultural heritage protection unit on November 9, 1990.