Located on the eastern foot of Taihang Mountain where Shanxi, Hebei and Henan provinces meet, Shexian County in Handan, Hebei Province has been famous for over 2,000 years. What makes it special and familiar to people nowadays is that the old revolutionary base also witnessed the development of Chinese journalism before 1949, the year when People's Republic of China was founded.
A bird's-eye view of a corner of Shexian County in Handan, north China's Hebei Province. /CFP
Taking a walk around the county, you will find many former sites of media institutions such as Xinhua News Agency, Shanbei Xinhua Broadcasting Station and Xinhua Daily, which all played an important role during the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.
Undated photo shows the China National Radio in Beijing. /CFP
Created by the Communist Party of China, the county's Shanbei Xinhua Broadcasting Station, previously known as the Yan'an Xinhua Radio Station, is the predecessor of China National Radio, the Beijing-based national radio network of China. Qi Yue was the first male announcer at the radio station. He broadcast a series of important articles for the Party and built up a strong relationship with the residents of Shexian. The station moved to Beijing in 1949 and became the national radio broadcaster after the founding of the People's Republic of China.
To protect those former media sites which have witnessed the footprints of China's Red Army, the forerunner to the country's People's Liberation Army, during wartime, local government has established a county-level research center.