From the northern retreat to the southern expedition without crossing the Zhangmutou

The Shenzhen Model

Luo Yaping et al.

Tsinghua University Press

August 2020

76.00 （CNY）

Brief introduction：

This book is a documentary work depicting the development history in the forty years since the establishment of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone in a panoramic manner. It records the great hardships Shenzhen has endured and the marvelous changes it has witnessed over the past forty years， from a small fishing village by the South China Sea to a modern international metropolis. Meanwhile， it also documents the glorious path and journey of the upcoming construction of the “pilot demonstration zone of socialism with Chinese characteristics”， and shows the world the Shenzhen miracle from multiple advanced fields such as finance， rule of law， science and technology， ecological and environmental protection， and infrastructure.

Luo Yaping

Luo Yaping is a member of Shenzhen Writers’ Association and his research fields include the culture of the special zones and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Let’s go back to June 1946. The Dongjiang Column， which had persisted in the Anti-Japanese War in Guangdong Province for more than eight years， obeyed the order of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China from the perspective of the overall situation， formed a northern retreat with the combat backbone as the main force， and assembled on the beach of Shayuyong， Dapeng Peninsula in Shenzhen on the afternoon of June 29.

It is a date with great importance in history. On the early morning of June 30， 2，583 men of the Dongjiang Column （including some backbone troops from the Zhujiang Column， Hanjiang Column， South Column， and Gui Southeast troops） aboard three landing ships provided by the U.S. military， sailed out of Dapeng Bay. Zeng Sheng， commander of the Dongjiang Column， and his comrades went on deck and waved their arms vigorously to bid farewell to the comrades who had stayed behind to fight and to the villagers who had come to see them off. Zeng was a native of Pingshan of Longgang， and so were many cadres and soldiers. For the sake of peace and revolution， they had to leave the familiar land and go to the far north. The soldiers sang together the “March of Retreat to the North” ： “For the peace of Guangdong！ We are leaving the home where we fought， going to a new battlefield， saying goodbye to our loved ones， bidding farewell to our comrades， sailing across the sea to the far north ...” This mournful song floated over Dapeng Bay with the sea breeze.

Yuan Geng， intelligence director of the Dongjiang Column， was also among those who withdrew to the north. Yuan， a native of Shuiba Village in Dapeng Town， devoted himself to the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Movement after the July 7th Incident in 1937， and later joined the Dongjiang Column. During the Anti-Japanese War， he was in charge of intelligence work in Hong Kong and Kowloon. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War， he served as director of the liaison office of the Dongjiang Column in Hong Kong and negotiated with the representatives of the British army as the representative of the Dongjiang Column. For the sake of the revolution， Yuan has lost count of the number of times he went back and forth between Shenzhen and Hong Kong. He might not have expected that returning to Hong Kong and then to Shekou of Shenzhen more than 30 years later， where he blasted the first shot to create Shekou Industrial Zone， became the prelude to the reform and opening up and establishment of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone.

After five days and nights of sea voyage， the northward evacuation troops arrived in Yantai， Shandong Province， and were warmly welcomed by the local military and people. According to the arrangements of the CPC Central Committee， the troops evacuated to the north still retained the name of Dongjiang Column， and all the personnel underwent concentrated political study and military training.

After more than half a year of study and actual combat， the army’s political awareness and military power had been greatly improved. In March 1947， the Central Military Commission of the Party decided to form the Guangdong and Guangxi Column on the basis of the troops evacuated to the north and appointed Zeng Sheng as commander. The task given by the CPC Central Committee to the Column was very clear， requiring them to develop into a strategic force of more than 10，000 soldiers through their own efforts， with the ultimate goal of liberating South China in concert with other forces in accordance with the unified deployment. On August 1， 1947， the inaugural meeting of the Guangdong and Guangxi Column was formally held in Bin County， Shandong Province. The Column subordinate to the East China Field Army grew into a strong field force after many battle exercises， especially the regimenting operations in the Yudong Campaign， Jinan Campaign and Huaihai Campaign， transitioning from guerrilla warfare to regular warfare and from small unit operations to large corps operations.

In March 1949， in order to liberate South China， the Guangzhou and Guangxi Columns were transferred to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Fourth Field Army.

In early July 1949， the Column were ordered to cross the Yangtze River southward successively from Huangshi Port in Hubei Province and entered the territory of Jiangxi Province， arriving in Ganzhou in early September to stand by.

On September 11， the newly-established South China Branch of the CPC Central Committee held an expanded meeting in Ganzhou， Jiangxi Province， presided over by Ye Jianying， then first secretary of South China Branch， who had shortly arrived from Beijing on orders from the central government. List of items addressed and decided upon at the meeting included the battle plan for the liberation of South China， the composition of the leading organs and the allocation of cadres of the Party， government and army at all levels， the policy of supporting the troops and taking over the cities， the foreign policy and the countermeasures against the imperialist blockade.