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.