ICI organized a group of 21 faculty and staff members, to visit Changting and Gutian to review the history of XMU in Gutian in the 1930s and 1940s and to have a better understanding of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.
This tour was led by Wang Yi, Chair of the ICI Council, and Qin Jian, Dean of the ICI. Through field visits, the members recalled the glorious traditions of the CPC and XMU, reviewed memorable years of the revolutionary martyrs, and further understood their original mission and were determined to carry forward their spiritual heritage.
On March 5, 1933, Mao Zedong sent a telegraph to Zhu De and Zhou Enlai commenting on Tingzhou with these words, “Tingzhou (Changting) is our important base in Southeast China and should not be given up so easily.” On the noon of 3rd, the teachers came to Changting, which was popularly known as “Little Red Shanghai”. They first visited Martyr Qu Qubai’s Museum. With the background music of the Internationale in the exhibition hall, they listened carefully to the narration from the guide and were deeply moved by the deeds of Qu Qubai, a communist and an outstanding proletarian revolutionary, who was loyal and dedicated his life to the revolutionary cause.
Then, they came to General Yang Chengwu Memorial Hall. Through visiting the exhibition hall and listening to the presentations, they learned that General Yang Chengwu, during the revolutionary war years, repeatedly established merits in battles and struggles, and created miracles in the history of the revolution. During the period of construction, he devoted himself relentlessly to defending and building the motherland, and made outstanding contribution to the maintenance of peace in the country.
After visiting General Yang Chengwu Memorial Hall, the group went to the former site of Fujian Province Soviet Government to review the history of the Party's great revolutionary practice and the close relationship between the CPC and the people in the Red Soviet Area during the revolutionary era.
On the afternoon of December 3, the teachers came to the last stop of the day - the former site of XMU in Changting. During the eight-year war of resistance against Japan from 1937 to 1946, XMU was relocated from Xiamen to Changting, and its then President, Sah Pen-Tung, had continued to nurture many outstanding scholars, politicians and business elites with the spirit of Mr. Tan Kah Kee. Since then this university has been known as the "Strength of the South".
During the visit to the old site, the members were deeply moved by the spirit of self-improvement and struggle of XMU's former teachers and students in the most difficult conditions, became more aware of the University's path of development, and gained a deeper understanding of the mission and responsibility they have undertaken as the new generation of XMU in the new century.
On the morning of December 4, the teachers visited the site of the Gutian Conference Memorial Hall to review the history of Chinese revolution. The Gutian Conference creatively combined Marxism-Leninism with the concrete practice of the Chinese revolution, and initially answered the question of how to transform an army composed mostly of peasants into a new type of people's army. The Gutian Conference has become a glorious milestone in the history of the construction of the CPC and the PLA.
