The Former Site of the Anti-Japanese Democratic Government of Lidong County

The Former Site of the Anti-Japanese Democratic Government of Lidong County is located in Xinmin Village, Beiwudang Town, Fangshan County, where 15 loess cave dwellings and 12 brick cave dwellings still exist, covering an area of 6,000 square meters. After the "Western Shanxi Incident", the Japanese army occupied Lishi, Fangshan, and Lanxian counties, built bunkers along the Lishi-Lanxian Highway, and set up more than ten strongholds. Meanwhile, the puppet governments at the levels of county, district, and village and a considerable number of puppet troops were established, controlling the main traffic route from Lishi County to Lanxian County. They implemented the policy of nibbling territory and repeatedly carried out brutal sweeps over the base areas. In September 1940, to better lead the anti-Japanese struggle in the eastern area of Lishi, the CPC Western Shanxi Party Committee and the Administrative Office of the Second Guerrilla Area of Shanxi Province decided to establish Lidong County and the Lidong CPC Working Committee, and reorganize the former Lishi-Dongshan Office to Government Office of Lidong County. In November 1941, according to the instructions of the CPC Central Committee on the construction of the political power in Shanxi and Suiyuan provinces and the practical needs of the struggle against enemy in Lidong County, the fourth prefecture-level CPC committee and the fourth commissioner's office of western Shanxi Province reorganized the Lidong CPC Working Committee into the CPC Committee of Lidong County, and the Government Office of Lidong County into the Anti-Japanese Democratic Government of Lidong County. The County's CPC Working Committee, CPC Committee, Government Office, and Government had been successively subordinated to the leadership of the fourth prefecture-level CPC committee and the fourth commissioner's office of western Shanxi Province, the eighth prefecture-level CPC committee and the eighth commissioner's office of Shanxi and Suiyuan provinces, and the third prefecture-level CPC committee and the third commissioner's office of Shanxi and Suiyuan provinces. The Anti-Japanese Democratic Government of Lidong County is a county-level political power, with six departments of civil affairs, justice, construction, finance, food, and education, and three bureaus of public security, transportation, and trade. The southeast area of Yukou and Yaerya (now Xinmin Village of Beiwudang Town) in Fangshan County was put under the jurisdiction of Lidong County, becoming the third district of Lidong County.

In November 1942, Fangshan County was revoked. The region in the east of Beichuan River and in the south of Madihui and Gedong was put under the jurisdiction of Lidong County, of which the government was located in Yaerya (now Xinmin Village). The CPC Committee of Lidong County reorganized the three guerrillas operating in the Lidong area into the Fifth Guerrilla of Lidong County. It had successively launched dozens of massive battles with the enemy in the areas along the Lidong-Lanxian Highway, Yaerya, Wucheng, Xiaoshentou, and Liulin Town, blew up dozens of bunkers controlled by Japanese puppet regime, and seized a large number of weapons and ammunition. From the autumn of 1944 to the spring of 1945, the Lidong guerrillas and the armed working teams cooperated with the third and eighth divisions of Shanxi-Suiyuan military region and launched a fierce attack on the enemy strongholds stationed in Yukou, Hengquan, Gedong, Hubao, Mafang and Kaifu, killed the pseudo-magistrate of Fangshan County. The army led by Japanese puppet regime fled for their lives in panic, and Fangshan County was liberated. In February 1945, the administrative level of Fangshan as a county was restored, and the two districts previously put under the jurisdiction of Lidong County was returned to the jurisdiction of Fangshan County. On August 15, 1945, the Japanese government announced its unconditional surrender. In September of the same year, Lishi and Lidong counties were liberated. The Anti-Japanese Democratic Government of Lidong County was stationed in Lishicheng District, and the Anti-Japanese Democratic Government of Lishi County was relocated to Liulin Town. On January 31, 1946, Lishi and Lidong counties merged into Lishi County.

Although the Anti-Japanese Democratic Government of Lidong County only existed for a short period of time, it, led by CPC and the People's Army and supported by the people, made great historical contributions to the victory of the Anti-Japanese War. Anti-Japanese War Daily and Liberation Daily had reported the stories of Lidong County in the Anti-Japanese War for many times. Yaerya (now Xinmin Village), the seat of the Anti-Japanese Democratic Government of Lidong County, was once an important passage connecting Yanan, where the CPC Central Committee was located, and North China. Liu Shaoqi, Peng Dehuai, Xu Xiangqian, Chen Yi, Liu Bocheng, Yang Shangkun, Bo Yibo, Luo Ruiqing, Chen Geng, Chen Xilian, Cai Shufan, Hua Guofeng and other proletarian revolutionists of the older generation once galloped on horseback from here to Yanan, and directed the Anti-Japanese War, leaving a string of shining footprints. This place has been praised as the "red corridor leading to Yanan". The Former Site of the Anti-Japanese Democratic Government of Lidong County was announced by the county government as a county-level cultural relic protection unit in 2016.