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Site of the Tunnel Warfare in Ranzhuang Village

The Site of the Tunnel Warfare is in Ranzhuang Village in Qingyuan County of Hebei Province. It is 30 kilometers away from Baoding City in Hebei Province. There is the Memorial for the Tunnel Warfare in Ranzhuang Village.

The Tunnel in Ranzhuang Village is 15 kilometers long in total, with the crossroad in the village as the center. It has four main stems to the east, west, south and north, with 11 lateral lines from east to west and 13 lateral lines from south to north. Besides, there are tunnels connecting other villages and four tunnels out of the village. Thus a tunnel net had come into being for the communication between villages. With this tunnel system people could either attack the enemy or protect themselves.

The tunnels are 0.7-0.8 meters wide, 1.0-1.5 meters high on the average. The top of the tunnels is about 2 meters from the ground. There are two kinds, with one as the hiding place for the masses and the other as the battling tunnel used by the army. The structure of the tunnels is very complicated. There are a variety of installations such as the headquarters, the kitchen, the dining room, the retiring room, the grain storeroom, the secrets room, and the water closet, etc. There is also the anti-gas equipment and traps. The exits of the tunnels are generally fixed at the ulterior places such as a cooking stove, a grind, a trough for the livestock, a bellow and the mouth of a well. The tunnels are connected to the wells to get air and water. The battle fortifications include the ground fortress, the shooting holes, the works on the roofs, and the works built at the small temples, the grind stand, the counter, the corners and foot of the walls, the darkroom, etc, which are connected with the tunnels. Moreover, there are hidden shooting holes in the walls along the avenues and lanes. Thus, a mighty covert battle net took shape, which helped people win over the unprepared enemy.

In the periods of the Anti-Japanese War and the Liberation War, the people in Ranzhuang Village developed the Tunnel Warfare under the direction of the Communist Party. They dealt heavy blows to the enemies in more than 150 battles. Because of their great achievements, the village was honored as the Model Village Resisting the Japanese Invaders.

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