General Xu Shiyou's Hometown 许世友将军故里

About General Xu Shiyou's Hometown

Xu Shiyou was born here in February 1905. He trained in martial arts at the Shaolin Temple as a young man and served as a company commander in the National Revolutionary Army before joining the Communist Youth League in September 1926 and the Communist Party in August 1927. That November he took part in the Huang'an-Macheng Uprising, and he went on to rise through every rank of the Red Army from platoon leader to army commander. During the counter-encirclement campaigns in the Eyuwan Soviet he joined dare-to-die squads repeatedly and led one twice, and in the fighting against the six-route encirclement he commanded the defence of Wanyuan, holding the position for three months.

In the war against Japan he became chief of staff of the Eighth Route Army's Shandong Column and, in 1942, commander of the Jiaodong Military District. In 1947 he commanded the 9th Column of the East China Field Army at Laiwu and Menglianggu, and in 1953 he led the 3rd Corps of the Chinese People's Volunteers in Korea. He was made a general in 1955 and died in Nanjing on 22 October 1985. A memorial hall to him stands at the site under its own director, and it draws many visitors from Shandong, Hubei and Guangdong, the regions where he served; it is grouped in the county's itineraries with the former Eyuwan Soviet capital and the nearby villages of Tianpu Dawan and Dingliwan.

What to look for

• The grave of General Xu Shiyou, where people come to lay flowers and pour wine, particularly around the Qingming festival
• The General Xu Shiyou Memorial Hall at the site
• The hamlet of Xujiawa in Hepu village, the general's birthplace, set in the Dabie Mountains

Location & getting there

Getting to General Xu Shiyou's Hometown

Check which interiors and courtyards are accessible. Active places of worship and protected monuments may have different visitor rules.

• Search for 许世友将军故里 with 信阳市 and 新县.