Exploring Chongqing: Unforgettable Corners (Massive Photos)

There is a strange phenomenon: at various tourism outlets in Chongqing, I rarely see tour products designed around the history of the War of Resistance against Japan and the revolutionary history. The only arrangement in the city's one-day tour itinerary is a visit to the Zhazidong Concentration Camp.

In 1937, the iron hooves of the Japanese swept through the Central Plains, and the Republic of China government moved from Nanjing to Chongqing. Thus, Chongqing became the wartime capital during the eight-year War of Resistance against Japan, as well as the wartime command center. This added a significant chapter to Chongqing's place in Chinese history. The collaboration and covert struggles between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party unfolded in Chongqing. As the wartime capital, temporary presidential residence, and home to various government agencies and the mansions of dignitaries, I wondered whether any traces remain. As someone who loves exploring historical truths, I was intrigued. So, I spent two days hopping on buses, subways, and taxis, frequently searching on my phone, looking for historical traces.

The first place I sought was the "Museum of Anti-Japanese War Historical Sites" on Nanshan, also known as Nanshan Villa or Huangshan Villa.

[Main gate of Nanshan (Huangshan Villa) complex]

[Above is a guide map of the Chongqing Anti-Japanese War History Museum (Nanshan Villa complex)]

Nanshan is located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River in Chongqing, with high terrain and lush trees. From where I stayed, I changed buses three times to get there. As the bus wound up the mountain, I saw the dense shade of trees and thought: during those war-torn years, Chiang Kai-shek hiding in his villa on Nanshan, remotely commanding the nationwide resistance, was indeed a wise choice.

Today, more than a dozen villas remain well-preserved. These include Chiang Kai-shek's official residence, the residences of Soong Ching-ling and Soong Mei-ling, as well as the former site of Zhang Zhizhong and his staff office. There is also the residence of U.S. Ambassador Marshall and the former site of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. Military.

To ensure the safety of these people, an air-raid shelter was built. Whenever there was an alarm of Japanese planes, they would hide inside.

In the central square of the villa complex, a monument to the Retrocession of Taiwan was erected in 2010. On October 25, 2010, coinciding with the 60th anniversary of Taiwan's retrocession, the Chongqing Municipal Government and the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League jointly erected this monument to commemorate the achievements of the Kuomintang and Communist Party in defeating Japan.

It is conceivable that Kuomintang soldiers and officers who participated in the resistance and later went to Taiwan, if they have the chance to visit Chongqing, will surely come here to reminisce about the past.

[Above is the staff office]

Here, Chongqing also built a comprehensive exhibition hall, which is essentially a display of texts and images introducing Chongqing's history during the War of Resistance. If old buildings have disappeared, you might find traces of them here.

The exhibition hall is divided into several sections: Political Center, Factory Relocation to Chongqing, Education Migration to the West, Wartime Capital, War Fundraising, the Great Bombing of Chongqing, and Japan's Surrender. Through pictures and texts, it introduces the situation of the temporary capital during the war. It is the best place to understand that period of history.

[Above is a photo of the second session of the Second People's Political Council of the Republic of China government, held in front of the National Government Building in Chongqing. Today, it is unknown whether this building still exists.]

[Above is a picture of buildings on Nanshan from that time.]

[Former site of the Executive Yuan of the National Government (equivalent to the State Council)]

[It is unknown whether this building still exists.]

[Above is a map showing the routes of various local governments migrating westward.]

To support the war, people across the country donated money and goods. I remember it was Chang Xiangyu who donated an airplane.

This is Yunxiu Building, Chiang Kai-shek's official residence.

Chiang's residence has now been converted into a Cross-Strait Exchange Base.

Thatched Pavilion was the guesthouse of the Chinese Military Commission. At that time, senior military commanders from various regions who came to Chongqing mostly stayed here.

Lianqing Building was the headquarters of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.

As I was about to leave the memorial hall and passed by the Taiwan Retrocession Monument Square, I heard an old man singing "My Home is on the Songhua River in Northeast China" in a high-pitched and sorrowful voice. Although there were not many tourists, everyone stopped to listen and applauded. The Chinese people, no matter how great their internal conflicts, would unite to resist foreign invasion—a stirring sense of nationalism welled up in my heart.

The second place I visited was the Zhazidong Concentration Camp and Baigongguan at the foot of Geleshan. Currently, Baigongguan is under major renovation and closed to visitors; only Zhazidong is open. Since it is the only red tourism site on the city's one-day tour offered by travel agencies, it was crowded.

During the late Qing Dynasty, coal was discovered at the foot of Geleshan in Chongqing, and a boss recruited workers to mine there. The coal was of such poor quality that locals called the mine shaft "Zhazidong" (Slag Hole).

During the Kuomintang period, the authorities converted the workers' sheds into a prison for political prisoners, using the office buildings as prison offices and guard rooms.

Seventy years have passed, and the growing trees have turned the place into a paradise of dense shade, as if it were a hidden utopia. But when we walked in, we saw where many revolutionary martyrs gave their lives. Especially when the new China was founded, martyrs like Sister Jiang never got to see the founding ceremony and were brutally killed.

[This is the interior of a cell.]

[These are photos of 13 revolutionary comrades who escaped death at liberation.]

[These are photos of the martyrs who sacrificed.]

[View of Zhazidong from outside the walls; if you didn't know, you might think it was a villa.]

In the courtyard of the guard room, I saw slogans written by the prison warden on two walls, full of flattery toward superiors and arrogance toward inferiors.

A tour guide joked, "Now some officials in China have the same attitude."

The third place I visited was Hongyan Village, officially called the Eighth Route Army Office in Chongqing. During the War of Resistance and shortly after, it was an important office of the Chinese Communist Party in the wartime capital and the base for intellectual and strategic struggles against the Kuomintang. It is now the Hongyan Revolution Memorial Hall.

[Below is a photo of Rao Guomo.]

[Below is Comrade Deng Yingchao mourning at Rao Guomo's grave.]

In 1985, Deng Yingchao paid tribute to Rao Guomo at the Hongyan Village grave. Deng Yingchao said, "Without Rao Guomo, we wouldn't have Hongyan."

Hongyan Village is located on the banks of the Jialing River in Yuzhong District. It was originally the Dayou Farm of Rao Guomo, a female industrialist in Chongqing. She strongly supported the Communist Party's ideas and, knowing that the Eighth Route Army needed to set up an office, generously donated the farm to Zhou Enlai.

[Above is the former site of the thatched house, originally housing workers of the Dayou Farm. When the Southern Bureau moved to Chongqing, Dong Biwu worked there.]

[Above is the former site of the auditorium. When Chairman Mao went to Chongqing for negotiations, he met with comrades from the Southern Bureau, the Eighth Route Army Office, and the Xinhua Daily here.]

[This is a group photo of Zhou Enlai with staff at Hongyan Village.]

[A photo of Zhou Enlai and Deng Yingchao at Hongyan Village hangs at the entrance.]

There is also a cemetery at Hongyan Village, where revolutionary comrades who died while working there are buried.

[Above is the path Mao Zedong once walked.]

[Above is the well at Hongyan Village.]

[This is the air-raid shelter at Hongyan Village. When Japanese planes bombed, staff would take shelter here.]

On the paths of Hongyan Village, there are photos of many underground Communist Party workers. The person in the photo above is Shen Anna. While in Chongqing, she was sent by the Party to infiltrate the upper echelons of the Kuomintang, becoming a stenographer at Chiang Kai-shek's important meetings. As a result, the Party knew the Kuomintang's every move accurately and in real time, which greatly facilitated the victory of the Liberation War. Shen Anna returned safely after liberation and lived to be over ninety.

The fourth place I went to see was the former site of the Xinhua Daily Office.

It was located near my hotel (near Linjiangmen), a three-story building on the street. It is still painted dark gray, retaining the color of that era. Inside, there are offices, a printing workshop, etc. However, it is currently under major renovation and closed to visitors. Back then, it served as the Communist Party's mouthpiece in the Kuomintang-controlled areas. Though a small newspaper, it gained great fame, providing a window for people in the Kuomintang-controlled areas to learn about the new trends in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region and bringing hope for the birth of a new China.

The fifth place I stumbled upon was the Zhou Enlai Residence (Zhougongguan).

Zhougongguan was Zhou Enlai's residence in Chongqing, located at No. 50 Zengjiayan, Yuzhong District. According to introductions, it was close to the Kuomintang Chongqing municipal government and also adjacent to Dai Li's mansion, surrounded by Kuomintang secret service agencies. It was here that Zhou Enlai directed many of the Party's secret operations, making many unknown contributions to defeating the Kuomintang.

The sixth place I came across by chance was the Liziba Anti-Japanese War Heritage Park.

When I was returning from Hongyan Village to my hotel and taking a bus to Liziba Station to transfer to the light rail, I suddenly noticed a sign by the roadside reading "Liziba Anti-Japanese War Heritage Park." I canceled my plan to return to the hotel and walked in.

This is a group of buildings along the Jialing River.

They include the Liu Xiang Mansion, Li Gengu Mansion, Gao Mansion, the Construction Bank, and the former site of the National Government Military Senate.

[Above is the Liu Xiang Mansion. Liu Xiang served as governor of Sichuan Province during the Republic period and commander of the Sichuan Army.]

[The mansion of the valiant general Li Gaigu (Li Gengu).]

Today, Li Gengu's mansion has been turned into a bar.

[Above is the former site of the National Government Military Senate.]

The seventh place I visited was the Red Guard Cemetery.

Located not far from Shapingba in Chongqing, inside Shaping Park, is the Red Guard Cemetery. I had briefly visited it in 1985. The tumultuous Cultural Revolution movement sparked nationwide armed conflicts. No one knows how many young students and workers died nationwide from these conflicts. I only recall that after the Cultural Revolution, various places tried to erase the scars of conflict and bulldozed the Red Guard cemeteries built in many areas. It is said that over 500 young victims were buried in Shaping Park. When someone proposed demolishing it, the famous writer Ba Jin suggested to the central government that China's only Red Guard cemetery be preserved as a mirror for history. Thus, this place, called the "Red Guard Cemetery Cluster," was preserved.

In a small square near Shaping Railway Station, there stands a statue of Mr. Ba Jin.

[This is the gate of Shaping Park.]

The Red Guard Cemetery is located in the western part of Shaping Park. This is the gate of the Red Guard Cemetery, locked to prevent entry. When I came in 1985, it was open, with graves of various sizes and tombstones in different styles.

Now, the path leading to the gate is blocked. According to an elderly man in the park, only family members of those buried there, with a family identification card, can have the officials open the gate for them to pay respects. This is quite humane.

From outside the wall, one can still see tombstones hidden among the trees.

[Statue of a beautiful woman outside the high wall, leisurely visitors—everything is peaceful.]

When I came in 1985, there were only small trees. Outside the high wall, one could see a line written on the wall: "Whose child lies here forever?" Now, that line is no longer visible—perhaps erased or blocked by trees.

Outside the Red Guard Cemetery, people leisurely dance as if nothing ever happened.

May our people forever enjoy such a peaceful life, and may that human tragedy never recur.

From April 20 to 28 this year, a total of 8 full days, including airfare and accommodation, I spent 4,000 yuan. Apart from joining group tours and resting for two days, I spent two days exploring the city on my own. It was a fulfilling and in-depth trip.