Octagonal Building

　　The Octagonal Building is located in Maoping Village, 36 kilometers from Ciping. The two places are connected by a road. It is a two-story building made of earthen bricks in Maoping Village and is named after its octagonal skylight. The Octagonal Building is one of the main attractions in the Maoping Scenic Area. Important leaders of the Red Army such as Mao Zedong, - , and Chen Yi once lived here. It was also the command center of the Fourth Red Army, where many significant meetings about the future of the revolution and the construction of our army were held.

　　Attractions at this site include: the Former Residence of Comrade Mao Zedong in the Octagonal Building, the Former Residence of Comrade - , the Site of the Soldiers' Committee of the Fourth Red Army of China, the Former Residence of Comrade Chen Yi, the Site of the First Congress of the Xiang-Gan Border Region, the Exhibition on the Life of Yuan Wencai, and the Maoping Red Army Martyrs' Cemetery.

　　In October 1927, Mao Zedong led the troops of the Autumn Harvest Uprising to Jinggangshan, where he established the first rural revolutionary base, igniting the "spark of armed agrarian revolution." At the end of April 1928, - and Chen Yi led the remaining troops of the Nanchang Uprising and the peasant army from southern Hunan to meet with Mao Zedong’s Workers’ and Peasants’ Revolutionary Army in Longshi, Ninggang. They formed the Fourth Army of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Revolutionary Army (soon renamed the Fourth Army of the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army), with - as the army commander, Mao Zedong as the representative and secretary of the Military Commission. In December of the same year, Peng Dehuai led the Fifth Red Army, formed from the Pingjiang Uprising troops, to meet with the Fourth Red Army in Ninggang County. The revolutionary forces on Jinggangshan grew even stronger.

　　The growth of the Jinggangshan revolutionary base also alarmed the - authorities. In an attempt to strangle the base in its infancy, they launched multiple “encirclement and suppression” campaigns militarily and imposed strict blockades economically, causing shortages of clothing, ammunition, fuel, rice, salt, and other necessities in the Jinggangshan base. To sustain the long-term revolutionary war, Mao Zedong carefully managed resources and educated Red Army soldiers to conserve food and oil. Since Jinggangshan produced only a small amount of tea oil, most of the oil had to be obtained by attacking local despots in the plains. Therefore, shortly after arriving in Jinggangshan, Mao Zedong announced oil usage regulations for the troops: offices of companies and higher-level units could use one oil lamp with three wicks when working, but the lamp must be extinguished when not in use; the company office could leave one lamp with one wick for night watch and sentry checks. Throughout Jinggangshan, the entire army strictly adhered to these regulations. Every night, as the lights-out bugle sounded, soldiers extinguished their lamps, leaving only the one lamp in the company office lit.

　　By addressing this seemingly minor issue, Mao Zedong taught the soldiers how to be frugal and make limited supplies last longer, helping them endure hardships and move toward victory. At the same time, Mao led by example. Although he worked late into the night every day, he used only one wick when one was enough. It was under the dim light of such an oil lamp that Mao Zedong wrote famous works such as “Why Is It That Red Political Power Can Exist in China?” and “The Struggle in Jinggangshan.” These works systematically summarized the experience of the Jinggangshan revolutionary struggle from both theoretical and practical perspectives and articulated the brilliant concept of “armed agrarian revolution.”

　　This oil lamp accompanied Mao Zedong in extremely harsh conditions, pointing out the only correct revolutionary path for China: encircling the cities from the countryside and finally seizing the cities. For this reason, the oil lamp of Jinggangshan became a beacon of the revolution, guiding the Chinese people, under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, to take up arms against reactionary rule and deepen the agrarian revolution in the vast darkness.

　　Admission Fee

　　Included in the general ticket, 190 RMB

　　Location

　　Maoping Scenic Area, Jinggangshan