Inside the old Dongbao Middle School in Guangming District.Photos by Sun Yuchen

Built in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Wanbi Family's Private School in Loucun Village in today's Guangming District used to be a private school for a family. The school was named after family member Chen Wanbi. Later, other villagers were also allowed to study in the school to receive enlightenment ideas.

During the 1911 Revolution, revolutionary pioneer Liao Zhongkai held several secret meetings at Wanbi Family's Private School.

Wanbi Family's Private School is under renovation. Photos by Sun Yuchen

In 1925, Shenzhen's first organization of the Communist Party of China (CPC) was founded at the school. It then became the activity center for the CPC organization. Peasants participating in revolutionary movements were also trained in the school. Bao'an County (former name of Shenzhen) is one of the first areas in Guangdong to set up CPC organizations.

The school, designed in typical Guangdong architectural style, later had some wooden parts damaged in a fire. Despite this, colorful frescoes and decorated carvings are still visible, telling its past stories.

Shenzhen Metro Line 6 is seen near Loucun Community where Wanbi Family's Private School is located. 

Also in Guangming, the defunct Dongbao Middle School used to be a place for the political department of Dongjiang Column of Guangdong People's Guerrilla Against Japanese Aggression to train more than 100 revolutionary cadres. The school was set up in February 1945 and was open for only nine months.

An alley inside the old Dongbao Middle School.

Before the school became a revolutionary base, it was a compound of three ancestral halls built in the Qing Dynasty for a family surnamed Chen. Now two ancestral halls remain and are inside Xiacun Primary School near the Heshuikou Metro Station.

A security guard checks the entrance to an ancestral hall inside the old Dongbao Middle School.