Farewell to Xibaipo and stepping into Zhongnanhai, the CCP leaders

Author: He Husheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-10-01
Features: On March 1949, the high-altitude guns around Xibaipo, the headquarters of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, were aimed at the sky to defend against enemy aircraft. At the same time, almost all senior leaders of the Communist Party's political, military, and party branches gathered here to listen to their leader Mao Zedong outline the blueprint for a new China. The Communists were about to leave the countryside for the city.
1.1 Gathering of Talents in Xibaipo
Xibaipo is a small mountain village located in Pingshan County, Hebei Province, about 200 Chinese miles from Shijiazhuang. It is surrounded by mountains and rivers, with the Hutuo River rushing past the village. Following the Hutuo River upstream leads to the majestic Taihang Mountains, while following it downstream reveals the famous North China Plain. In terms of natural conditions, it is an ordinary, backward, and isolated village, but the Chinese Revolution gave it great historical significance. In June 1947, Liu Shaoqi and Zhu De led the Central Work Committee to settle here to carry out tasks entrusted by the Central Committee, which was publicly known as the "Workers' School." On March 23, 1948, Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and Ren Bishi left Yangjia in northern Shaanxi and crossed the Yellow River via Wuhou Valley to arrive here. The Central Committee of the Communist Party was then established in this small village. From then on, this small mountain village became the strategic command center of the Liberation War, achieving decisive victories.
From March 5 to 13, 1949, the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was held in Xibaipo Village. This session was the first central plenary meeting held by the Communist Party since the Anti-Japanese War and the only central plenary meeting held during the Liberation War. Before the meeting began, the senior leaders of the political, military, and party branches from various regions and battlefields gradually arrived in Xibaipo. Among them were Dong Biwu, Lin Boqu, Zhang Wentian, Peng Dehuai, He Long, Deng Xiaoping, Li Shaoqin, Wang Zhen, and Xi Zhongxun. Some traveled by train to Shijiazhuang and then took a bus to Xibaipo, while others arrived directly by car. This gathering was filled with an uplifting and enthusiastic atmosphere. The senior military and political leaders of the Communist Party were all in high spirits, smiling broadly. Long years of war had made it difficult for these close comrades and colleagues to meet, and their joy at being reunited was evident in their words and actions. They were also genuinely happy about the war's victory: in just a few short months, they had fought three major battles,d over 1.5 million troops of the Kuomintang's main force and liberated half of China.
Xibaipo, a tiny place, suddenly welcomed almost all of the Communist Party's top elites, making it quite crowded. The leaders attending the meeting were often accommodated in rooms with several people sharing, with very poor living conditions. However, these leaders had already visited the simple housing of the five secretaries of the Communist Party's Fifth Congress and: "Chairman Mao still lives in such a small flat, we are living like this, and it's already very good. This is a hundred times better than sleeping in the open during the Long March or sleeping in trenches during the war." Compared to the Nationalist generals who lived in luxurious mansions and wore fine clothes, the leaders of the Communist Party's army were so down-to-earth and straightforward! It was these "rough" men who slept in bunk beds who defeated the well-dressed Nationalist generals in real battles and chased Chiang Kai-shek across the Yangtze River!
In the days before the meeting, the leaders attending were also given physical examinations.