In spring, Hongyan Village, Chongqing. Wang Peiwen, an interpreter of the "95 Generation", led the tourists along a flagstone road from the Hongyan Revolutionary Memorial Hall to Rao Guomo's former residence.

At the intersection, a yellow kudzu tree stands tall, which was planted by Rao Guomo, Wang Peiwen's great grandmother more than 90 years ago. Yellow leaves are falling with the wind, paved with slate roads, and new leaves have just hung on the branches.

This slope beside the Jialing River was originally named Hongyanzui, which was named "Hongyan" because its geology belongs to Danxia landform and its rocks are red. In the 1930s, Rao Guomo, the sister of Rao Guoliang, one of the seventy-two martyrs in Huanghuagang, set up a farm here. In 1939, the enlightened and progressive old lady provided the land and houses of Hongyan Village to the South Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and the Office of the Eighth Route Army in Chongqing.

Since then, Hongyan has become not only a geographical concept, but also a spiritual landmark, closely linked with the history of the Chinese revolution led by the Communist Party of China.

The former site of the South Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and the Chongqing Office of the Eighth Route Army. (Courtesy of Chongqing Hongyan Revolutionary History and Culture Center)

The former site of the South Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Chongqing Office of the Eighth Route Army is a little farther from Rao Guomo's former residence. In front of the gate of the former site, a photo taken in 1940 makes one stop to take a closer look.

Chongqing in the photo has just experienced several hours of intensive bombing by the Japanese army, and a bomb fell not far in front of the office. After the air raid alarm was lifted, Zhou Enlai and Deng Yingchao stood in front of the damaged building.

"At that time, Zhou Enlai encouraged everyone to say that the Japanese invaders tried to use bombing to destroy our will to fight against Japan and force us to surrender, but we could not go away. After saying that, he specially asked the office staff to take this precious picture." The commentator's explanation made the tourists seem to have returned to that period of eventuality.

During the national war of resistance against Japan, Zhou Enlai, Dong Biwu, Ye Jianying, Deng Yingchao, Qin Bangxian and other older revolutionaries worked and stayed in Hongyan Village, actively developed and expanded the anti Japanese national united front, made outstanding contributions to the victory of the war of resistance against Japan and the establishment of new China, and lit a bright light in the misty Chongqing.

After the victory of the Anti Japanese War, at an important historical turning point, Mao Zedong flew from Yan'an to Chongqing, led the CPC delegation to carry out peace negotiations with Chiang Kai shek's Kuomintang government, and stayed in Hongyan Village for more than 40 days and nights. Mao Zedong re wrote "Qinyuan Spring Snow" here, "a number of celebrities", showing the confidence and boldness of the Chinese Communists.

Now, walking into the old site that has been comprehensively protected and repaired, a wooden table and a cane chair are simple and solemn, solidifying time, and also letting this history continue to illuminate the way forward and shine forever.

In Chongqing, "Hongyan" is also a heroic song of the heroes of Geleshan Hongyan who are conscientious in facing difficulties.

"The red plum blossoms on the red rock, and thousands of miles of ice and frost underfoot. How can we fear the cold in March 9, and open up to the sun with all our heart..." The song "Praise of the Red Plum" in the opera "Sister Jiang" is widely known. The novel "Red Rock" and the movie "Immortal in the Fire" have also become the collective memory of generations of Chinese people.

In June 1948, due to the betrayal of traitors, Jiang Zhujun, an underground party member, was unfortunately arrested and imprisoned in Chongqing Zhazidong Prison. In the face of the severe torture of Kuomintang agents, she remained unyielding. "Bamboo sticks are made of bamboo, and the will of the Communist Party members is steel!" On the eve of Chongqing's liberation in 1949, full of boundless yearning for the new China, Jiang Zhuyun and other revolutionary heroes made heroic sacrifices.

Today, the Red Scenic Area under the jurisdiction of Chongqing Hongyan Revolutionary Historical and Cultural Center receives more than 10 million tourists annually. The Geleshan Martyrs Cemetery is surrounded by green pines and cypresses, and the citizens and tourists who come to offer sacrifices and flowers are constant all the year round. The nearby Refuse Pit and the former site of Bai Mansion Detention Center have launched an immersive epic drama "Red Rock" and a situational experience drama "Before Dawn". The immersive scenes make the revolutionary story of Red Rock on the books "come alive".

Zhu Jun, secretary of the Party Committee of Chongqing Hongyan Revolutionary History and Culture Center, said that Chongqing is the birthplace of the Hongyan Spirit. The Hongyan Spirit is rooted in Chongqing's long history, culture and glorious revolutionary tradition. Rooted in the great spirit of party building, it is the most recognizable symbol of Chongqing's humanistic spirit.

Hongyan Revolutionary Memorial Hall. (Courtesy of Chongqing Hongyan Revolutionary History and Culture Center)

In Hongyan Village, in the old house where her high grandmother and her grandmother lived, Wang Peiwen often tells tourists about the history of Hongyan and the stories she heard from her elders when she was young.

In the peak tourist season of Hongyan Village, Wang Peiwen started to explain at 9 o'clock every morning until closing in the evening, and had little time to rest at noon. Tourists often ask her if there are any descendants of Hongyan historical figures working here. Wang Peiwen can point at herself. "Tourists will be surprised and more happy, because it is also a kind of inheritance of Hongyan spirit from generation to generation," she said. (Reporter Zhou Wenchong)