Hongyan Revolutionary History Museum

Sitting on the banks of the Jialing River, the Hongyan Revolutionary History Museum takes its name from the striking red cliffs (Hongyan, “Red Rock”) that surround the site. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, this was the base for the Communist Party’s Southern Bureau, operating from within Nationalist-controlled wartime Chongqing to coordinate the united front against Japan — a genuinely unusual arrangement that makes the site historically significant beyond the war years themselves.

The museum complex spans several connected locations, including the former Eighth Route Army office, the Zengjiayan site, Guiyuan Garden, and the former offices of the Xinhua Daily newspaper, together covering more than 16,000 square meters of exhibition space. Displays cover the period through photographs, documents, restored rooms, and personal artifacts, with a particular focus on the Southern Bureau’s work and the individuals who ran it, including Zhou Enlai.

Entry is free, and it’s one of the more comprehensive wartime history sites in the city if you want to go beyond a single building or story.