Daoxian martyrs public memorial ceremony. Jiang Keqing/photo
Red Net Moment News Correspondent Zhou Jingzhong Li Shengquan Dao County Report
Dao County is an old revolutionary base, located in the borders of Hunan, Guangxi and Guangdong, with its borders on Guangdong and Guangxi and blocking the three Hunan provinces. It has been a place that military strategists must fight for since ancient times. Looking back on the journey of the Red Army's Long March, countless martyrs sacrificed their lives and shed their blood, composeing songs that shocked the world and wept ghosts and gods. The land of Daozhou is even more of a red hot land full of blood of heroes. Five Red Army troops once passed through Dao County.
In early January 11931, Deng Xiaoping, Li Mingrui and Zhang Yunyi led the Red Seventh Army to an expedition north, passing through Dao County, and the soldiers of the Red Army flew in the snow and were in the severe cold, fighting against local tyrants in the city of Daozhou and eliminating bullies. At the end of August 1934, Ren Bishi, Xiao Ke and Wang Zhen led the Red Sixth Army to march westward to . After passing Dao County, he defeated his enemies several times his disadvantaged equipment in Jiangjialing . In mid-to-late November 1934, the Central Organization, the Central Revolutionary Military Commission Column and the First, Third, Fifth, Eighth and Ninth Army of the Red Front Army broke through the enemy's tight blockade of Xiangjiang defense line. In mid-to-early December 1934, after the 34th Division of the Red Fifth Army covered the main force across the Xiangjiang River, it was surrounded and blocked by the enemy and could not cross the river. He returned to Dao County to continue fighting. The division commander Chen Shuxiang and most of the soldiers shed the last drop of blood for the Soviets and buried himself in the land of Dao County. In March 1935, the Red 24th Division, which was left behind in Jinggangshan Central Soviet Area, moved to Dao County, looking for the remaining troops of the Red 34th Division, organized guerrillas in the area of Jianhuaping, and launched a arduous guerrilla war with the enemy.
Dao County Martyr Chen Shuxiang’s Life and Deeds Showroom. Photo by Zhou Jingzhong/
On October 1, 2014, in order to better improve the construction of the revolutionary traditional education base and patriotic education base, promote the revolutionary spirit of the Red Army's Long March, and develop red tourism resources, Dao County launched the construction of the Revolutionary Martyrs Memorial Park. The Revolutionary Martyrs Memorial Park is located opposite the Liushui River, the hometown of Martyr He Baozhen, the "outstanding female party member", Meihua Town, 4.5 kilometers away from Daoxian County and 1.5 kilometers away from the provincial highway S323 line. The total height of the Dao County Martyrs Monument is 26.1 meters, which means that the Dao County Branch Committee of the Communist Party of China was established in October 1926. After the completion of the Martyrs Memorial Park, the county party committee and county government held public memorial services here every year, exerting a strong effect of revolutionary traditional education and patriotic education.
In order to deeply commemorate the achievements of martyrs Chen Shuxiang, better promote the spirit of martyrs, comfort the loyal souls of martyrs, promote red culture, and inherit the red genes, Dao County launched the second phase of the Memorial Park project (Chen Shuxiang Red Cultural Park), mainly relocated and built the tomb of Chen Shuxiang and the tomb of martyrs of the Red 34th Division, built the exhibition room for Chen Shuxiang's life deeds, the Red Army slogan wall and the martyrs of the Red 34th Division, and improved the quality and transformed the 2-kilometer road into the park, and made every effort to build a party member training and education base and a red cultural scenic spot with Chen Shuxiang's theme of "Sincerebroken and clear his ambition and absolute loyalty".
Dao County Martyr Chen Shuxiang’s tomb. Zhou Jingzhong/photo
Among them, the exhibition area of Chen Shuxiang's life and deeds is 360 square meters, divided into four exhibition areas: "preface", "firm belief", "obey the party's command", "keep the mission in mind" and "absolute loyalty". It concentrates on displaying the short and glorious revolutionary career of Chen Shuxiang, the commander of the Red 34th Division, vividly interprets Chen Shuxiang's lofty spirit of the desperate guard and the solemn oath of "shewn the last drop of blood for the Soviet Union". At present, the exhibition room of Martyr Chen Shuxiang’s life and deeds has been selected as a patriotic education base in Hunan Province. At the same time, the tomb of Martyr Chen Shuxiang was listed as the tenth batch of provincial cultural relics protection units in Hunan Province.
Dao County Martyr Chen Shuxiang’s Life and Deeds Showroom. Photo by Zhou Jingzhong/
From September 24 to 26, 2020, the Daoxian branch venue of the China Red Tourism Expo was held here. In 2021, Dao County will be one of the key counties for the construction of the National Long March Cultural Park, and will be included in the first batch of 30 demonstration counties for the protection and utilization of cultural relics in the Long March National Cultural Park in the country, and will be selected as the key counties for the national "Retracement of the Long March Road" national red tourism boutique route.The Chen Shuxiang Martyrs Memorial Hall is listed as the list of 11 new memorial halls in the country. The Chen Shuxiang "Shuts the Heart" Long March Historical Trail in Dao County is listed as the first batch of demonstration sections of 44 Long March Historical Trail in the country. The Dao County- Guanyang -Longsheng Concentrated Display Belt is included in the Long March National Cultural Park construction and protection plan. Chen Shuxiang Red Cultural Park successfully created a national 4A-level scenic spot. Chen Shuxiang Martyrs Memorial Park was selected as the "100 High-quality Red Tourism Routes in the 100th Year of the Founding of the Party", entering the national high-quality route for the first time. In 2022, the Party School of the Daoxian County Committee of the Communist Party of China (Chen Shuxiang’s “Absolute Loyalty” Party Member Education and Training Base) was rated as the second batch of Party Member Education and Training Demonstration Bases in Hunan Province. At present, the Chen Shuxiang Martyrs Memorial Hall and Chen Shuxiang Red Cultural Park in Dao County have become the main places for the majority of party members, cadres and the masses to recall the revolutionary martyrs, inherit the spirit of the Long March, and promote red culture. Chen Shuxiang's heroic deeds of "heartbroken and absolute loyalty" and the spirit of countless revolutionary martyrs who are brave enough to take responsibility and not afraid of sacrifice are constantly being promoted and promoted in the land of Daozhou, and the red gene is being dissolved in blood and passed down from generation to generation.
