The Shuikoushan Workers' Movement Exhibition Hall was first built in 1969. It is located in the Shuikoushan Lead-Zinc Mining Area of Changning City, Hengyang City—a national key transportation hub, a major city in Central South China, and a renowned historical and cultural city in Hunan Province. It is designated as a Patriotic Education Base of Hunan Province, a National Defense Education Base for All Citizens of Hunan Province, a Demonstration Site for Patriotic Education of Hengyang, a Party Spirit Education Base of Hengyang, and a National AA-Class Red Tourism Scenic Spot.

Basic Overview

Originally constructed in 1969, the exhibition hall covers a building area of 2,300 square meters, consisting of an exhibition building and auxiliary structures. The exhibition building, formerly the Soviet Expert Building, is a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level. Ranking second in China in terms of its founding history, it is the only exhibition hall dedicated to workers' movements in Hunan. It permanently hosts the Basic Exhibition on the Shuikoushan Workers' Movement and is open to the public free of charge.

Affiliated with the Changning Municipal Cultural Heritage Center, the exhibition hall currently has 12 staff members, with functional departments including the General Office, Exhibition & Publicity Department, Cultural Relics Protection & Research Department, and Security Department. Centered on its basic exhibitions and surrounding revolutionary sites, supported by various Party lectures featuring the deeds of martyrs and historical events of the Shuikoushan Workers' Movement, and supplemented by achievements in protecting and utilizing Shuikoushan's industrial heritage, it provides rich on-site and experiential teaching services for Party members and officials.

Basic Exhibition

Composed of a preface hall and four exhibition rooms, the exhibition is divided into five sections:

Roots in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, Inheriting Millennium Legacy

Feudal Colonial Oppression, Sparking Spontaneous Resistance

Tide of Strikes Resounding Across the Nation

Marching to Jinggangshan, Embarking on a New Journey

Revolutionary Pioneers, Achievements Immortalized in History

Through a wealth of cultural relics, precious photographs, creative prints, and multimedia displays, it comprehensively showcases the glorious course of the Shuikoushan Workers' Movement under the leadership of the Communist Party of China.

The preface hall features a backdrop, a foreword, and slogans defining the historical status of the movement. In Hunan's revolutionary soil, Shuikoushan workers rose up in struggle, establishing the first mine Party organization, the first mine club, the first peasant union, and the first worker-peasant armed force in Hunan. They launched the world-shocking Shuikoushan Workers' Strike and formed a worker-peasant alliance that marched to Jinggangshan. Thus, Shuikoushan became a pioneer of China's workers' movement and a model of worker-peasant alliance in China.

Historical Background

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, workers at the Shuikoushan Lead-Zinc Mine suffered severe exploitation by feudal bureaucrats and plunder by imperialist powers, living in extreme hardship. The May Fourth Movement in 1919 ignited a nationwide upsurge in the spread of Marxism.

In late April 1922, Mao Zedong personally visited Shuikoushan, lighting the fuse of the workers' movement. On December 5, 1922, over 3,000 workers went on strike, which lasted 23 days and ended in complete victory. Subsequently, workers established schools, supported the May 30th Movement, formed armed forces, launched the Shuikoushan Uprising, and assisted the Southern Hunan Uprising. In 1928, 800 miners marched to Jinggangshan, becoming the backbone of the Red Army. The movement made a significant contribution to the great victory of the Chinese revolution.

Development Progress

Record-Breaking Visitor Numbers

Since free admission in 2011, the hall has received over 1.6 million visitors, averaging more than 150,000 annually—including 800,000 minors and over 500 group visits for Party-building activities. In 2019 alone, it hosted over 200,000 visitors, 130,000 of whom were Party members and officials, and held over 260 sessions for the "Stay True to the Original Aspiration, Keep the Mission in Mind" thematic education.

Fruitful Historical Research

Further research has uncovered forgotten historical truths:

The Shuikoushan Workers' Consumer Cooperative may be the earliest prototype of a bank in the Party's history.

The ordnance workshop established by workers, which repaired and manufactured weapons, was the earliest military arsenal of the People's Army.

The Shuikoushan workers' armed force was organized into the Direct Special Battalion under the headquarters of the Fourth Red Army—the first special battalion in the PLA's history and the predecessor of the later Central Guard Regiment.

The Shuikoushan Workers' Armed Uprising was a major independent workers' uprising in Hunan, historically known as the "Shuikoushan Uprising".

Tailored Video Education

To enrich thematic education, the documentary The Great Shuikoushan Workers' Movement was produced, fully presenting its spirit: firm faith, fearlessness of sacrifice, innovation, pioneering courage, strict discipline, and unity. It deepens officials' understanding of the pioneers' perseverance in ideals and sense of mission amid hardships.

Improved Infrastructure

In 2019, a lecture hall, conference rooms, and reception rooms were added, accommodating over 80 people for meetings and training. Signage was standardized, with traffic signs at highway exits and tourist facilities upgraded—including a visitor center, guide signs, and maps. Renovations included landscaping, public toilets, office roofs, and walls. Full-time cleaners were hired, with 10 new garbage bins ensuring daily waste removal and a clean environment.

Boosting Red and Industrial Tourism

New Shuikoushan Workers' Movement Memorial Hall: Under construction with an investment of ~70 million yuan, it will have a 4,000 ㎡ main building and 3,000 ㎡ exhibition area, leveraging the movement's historical status and rich heritage.

Revolutionary Site Renovation: With a 20 million yuan investment, the Kang's Opera Stage and Kang Hanliu's Restaurant sites will be restored, with surrounding environment improved and tourist facilities built to develop a 4A-class red tourism scenic spot