In the heart of Hubei province, Hong'an county in the city of Huanggang stands as a living testament to China's revolutionary past.
Home to 224 preserved revolutionary sites, it has earned the nickname "a city of revolutionary history without walls".
Carefully protected wartime relics dating to the 1920s offer visitors a vivid glimpse into a defining chapter of modern Chinese history.
Hong'an was the birthplace and nurturing ground of three major Red Army forces. It also served as the heart of the Eyuwan revolutionary base, a key stronghold established during the Agrarian Revolutionary War period (1927–37), where the Communist Party of China built rural Soviet governments and mobilized farmers against warlords and landlords.
According to Wu Guohong, curator of the Hong'an County Museum, this small county lost 140,000 of its sons and daughters during the years of national defense, and produced 223 founding generals of the People's Republic of China.
The spirit of those years lives on in a local folk song: "Little Hong'an, every person a hero; when the bronze gong sounds, 480,000 rise; men go to battle, women bring food."
Almost every resident can still sing it.
One of the most striking areas is Changsheng Street, a 600-meter-long stone-paved lane, lined with black-tiled roofs and wooden buildings that have changed little since the 1920s. Here, visitors can find former Red Army canteens, a Red Army pharmacy, post office, labor union, and bank.
Traditional craft shops, including fabric stores, tailors' shops, and blacksmith workshops continue to operate alongside these historic landmarks, blending everyday life with revolutionary heritage.
About a 20-minute drive from the county seat is Bayi village, where the revolutionary song The Osmanthus Blossoms in August was first sung.
The village preserves several former Red Army living and working sites while offering immersive study tours. Visitors can learn revolutionary songs from local residents and hear the story of General Fang Heming, who returned after the war to help rebuild his hometown.
In May, the village welcomed an average of over 600 visitors each day.
Despite decades of exposure to the elements, these revolutionary sites remain remarkably well preserved. In 2024, Hong'an was designated as one of the second batch of National Demonstration Zones for the Protection and Utilization of Revolutionary Cultural Relics.
Liu Wei, director of Hong'an's Cultural Relics Development Center, says the central government's support for protecting and making use of revolutionary heritage has increased significantly over the past decade through both funding and policy.
"These measures have brought major improvements to the preservation of our revolutionary heritage," Liu says.
In 2021, the National Cultural Heritage Administration formulated a detailed special plan for protecting and utilizing revolutionary cultural relics. The revised Cultural Relics Protection Law, which took effect in March 2025, includes a dedicated chapter on revolutionary cultural relics and sets out rules for their restoration and ownership.
Local authorities have also introduced a range of conservation measures. Every site now has a designated guardian and a comprehensive protection plan, Liu says.
The ultimate goal, Liu explains, is to help younger generations remember and understand their history.
The county has trained student guides to lead tours and share local stories.
"We want, above all, to engage young people," Liu says. "We hope the children and young people of Hong'an understand their own history and pass it on to their peers."
In addition to conventional tours, the county has also launched an immersive live-action production, Hong'an, Hong'an.
Against a backdrop of explosions, gunfire and battle cries, audiences are transported back to 1927, offering another powerful way to experience this pivotal period of revolutionary history.
