The Banhong Anti-British Monument

　　The shocking "Banhong Incident" was a major historical event during China's democratic revolution period, where the Va people in the Banhong and Banlao regions engaged in a patriotic struggle against British aggression. It stands as a glorious and heroic act of unity among the ethnic peoples of the southern borderlands in resisting foreign humiliation, safeguarding national unity, and preserving territorial integrity.

　　In 1885, after the British Empire occupied Burma, they extended their aggressive claws into our Awa Mountain region, attempting to connect and expand their interests in the Yangtze River basin of China.

　　In 1900, during the Sino-British boundary demarcation of the Yunnan-Burma border, the British side arrogantly and unreasonably refused to acknowledge the fact that Banhong was Chinese territory, placing the "Hulu King" land, where the Va people had lived and thrived since ancient times, within the undemarcated area of the southern section of the Yunnan-Burma border. Due to the rich mineral resources of the Banhong tribe, which Britain had long coveted, the British side adamantly refused to recognize Banhong as Chinese territory during the boundary demarcation. The imperialist ambitions of the British provoked great indignation among the Va people and were met with their firm resistance and opposition. During the first Sino-British demarcation, a British armed force attempted to pass through the Hulu King land via Banlong, Banlao, and Banhong into the Dai chieftain territory of MengjiaoDong. The Banhong chieftain, Hu Yushan, firmly refused passage and even had his secretary write a letter and send a package of eggs to be delivered to the British troops. The British commander, Scott, was smug upon seeing the eggs and the letter.

　　Little did he know that when he opened the letter, he was so enraged he could hardly keep his eyes open. The letter read: "The Hulu King land is Chinese territory; you are not allowed to come here. If you dare to come, we will resolutely strike back!" After reading the letter, the translator also told him: "The eggs are not a gift, but rather a signal from the Va people telling guests to get lost and never come back." Scott was left speechless and helpless. Eventually, he had no choice but to take his officers and surveying personnel and leave Mangka, taking a detour through Mengding, and entering the Dai chieftain territory of MengjiaoDong with Chinese boundary commissioners Liu Wansheng and Chen Can via Gengma, where they set up camp.

　　In February 1900, because three men under Scott’s command—Lieutenant Dun and others—rode into Mengdong to go to the market, stole yellow mangoes from the Yonghe Va people, and shot and killed a Va vendor, it provoked immense anger among the Va, Dai, and other ethnic border residents who were at the market. They rose up in protest, and two British soldiers were killed by the furious crowd. After the "Yellow Mango Incident" erupted, Scott frantically sent armed forces to attack Mengdong and Yonghe, burning, killing, and looting along the way. Many Dai and Va villages were destroyed in the flames.

　　Upon learning of the "Yellow Mango Incident," Hu Yushan immediately dispatched armed forces to guard the Wengding Mountain between Mengjiao and Banhong. At the same time, he organized alliances with the Yonghe, Shaoxing, and Shaopa tribes to jointly resist the British forces. In the end, the British forces fled back to Burma, daring not to encroach again.

　　Due to their failure in the 1900 "Yellow Mango Incident," the British colonizers realized the might of the Va people and found they could not conquer the border residents of the Hulu King through force. However, they were unwilling to give up their ambition to annex the treasure land of the Hulu King, rich in silver mines. They promptly resorted to missionary work as a form of cultural aggression, but the "missionaries" sent by the British colonizers were blocked from entering the Hulu King land by Hu Yushan. Their scheme to invade and conquer the Va people within the Hulu King land never succeeded. They clearly understood that this Hulu King—Hu Yushan—was fiercer than a tiger in the mountains. Without eliminating him, there was no hope of annexing an inch of the Hulu King land or obtaining a single piece of shiny silver ore. Thus, they racked their brains and came up with a new trick—trying to buy off and soften Hu Yushan—but still met with rejection. In the end, they cultivated pro-British forces, sent spies deep into the heart of the Awa Mountains to survey the terrain, explore geological mineral resources, smuggle out ore samples, and even deployed troops to shoot and kill our Va people and burn our border villages. Following this, they brazenly dismembered and forcibly occupied our frontier, plundering our rich mineral resources.

　　Later, thanks to the resolute struggle of the people of Banhong and Banlao and the support of public opinion nationwide, the authorities finally conducted a second Sino-British demarcation of the southern section of the Yunnan-Burma border from 1935 to 1937. Faced with overwhelming historical facts, the British Empire finally acknowledged that the Banhong region was Chinese territory. In 1960, China and Burma amicably and successfully resolved the long-standing Sino-Burmese border issue, and Banlao returned to the embrace of the motherland.

　　In April 1987, the Banhong Anti-British Monument was designated as a provincial-level patriotic education base by the provincial Party committee and government. It is now also listed as a Yunnan Provincial national defense education base. Today, we, the people of the Va Mountains, have inherited and carried forward the spirit of self-reliance and heroic struggle of our forebears. We believe that under the correct leadership of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, and with the strong support and assistance of provincial, regional leaders, and friends from all walks of life across the nation, the future of the Va Mountains will surely be built more beautifully and prosperously.