Banhong Anti-British Battle Monument in Cangyuan County, Lincang
Chinese Name: 班洪抗英纪念碑
English Name: Banhong Anti-British Battle Monument
Keywords: Banhong Anti-British Battle Monument, Canyuan tours, Cangyuan tourist sites
Visiting Time: 30 mintues-1 hour
Opening Hours: All the day
Admission Fee: Free
Location: Located in the west of Cangyuan Va Autonomous County of Lincang City
Introduction
The “Banhong incident”, which shocked China and foreign countries, was the historical event of the patriotic and anti-British struggle of the WA people in the period of China’s democratic revolution, the Banhong and Banao areas, and the unity of the people of all ethnic groups in the southern border of the motherland to resist aggression and safeguard national unity.
Banlao Town
Banlao town(班老乡) is located in the west of Cangyuan Va Autonomous County of Lincang City, 95 KM away from the county, situated in the 98°53′00″to 99°03′37″of east longitude, 23°09′45″to 23°19′55″of north latitude. It’s bordering with Nangunhe National Nature Reserve（南滚河自然保护区） in the east, Nanla Village of Mangka Town（芒卡镇南腊村） in the north, and Va state of Myanmar（缅甸佤邦） in the west and south, sharing 41.65KM boundary line with Myanmar. Meanwhile it’s a town with the longest boundary line of Cangyuan Va Autonomous County, facing Banhong Town on the other side of the river. Within the town, the highest point is 1530 meters, the lowest is 480 meters, and the average annual temperature is 21℃. The Rainfall is quite abundant with average annual rainfall 1900 to 2400mm.
Related Events
Banhong Incident（班洪事件）
Banhong Incident（班洪事件） shocked China and the whole world, it is an anti-British battle leading by Va ethnic people in Banhong and Banlao area during the democratic revolutionary period. It is a glorious feat that the people on the south border of China united together to safeguard national unity defending the invasion.
The British imperialist soldiers occupied Myanmar in 1885, then they continued to invade Awa Mountain area of China, aiming to expand their interests in the Yangtze river area.
When China and British sitting together to talk about the national boundary line in 1900, British regarded Banhong area not as part of China unreasonably. They put the south part of boundary line, called the Gourd King Area（葫芦王）, which Va ethnic group lived on as the uncertain border. They were so eager to occupy this area due to the abundant mineral resources that they didn’t admit Banhong area as part of China.The invasion of the British Imperialism stirred up the anger of the Va people, they resisted firmly. The British armed forces planned to go through Bannong（班弄）, Banlao（班老）, and Banhong（班洪） then arriving at Mengjiao（勐角） area of Dai ethnic group. But the King of Banhong area, Hu Yushan, didn’t allow them to pass, at the same time, he ordered his secretary to send a letter and a basket of egg to Scott, the leader of the British armed forces. Scott was so arrogant when he received these gifts, but after reading the letter he became angry soon, the letter was written as, the Gourd King Area is part of China, you can not occupy it rudely, but if you dare to invade, we will resolutely fight all forms of invasion. Later on, the interpreter told him that, this basket of eggs were not a gift but means as Get out of here, and never come back! In Va language. Scott was so pissed off, but he couldn’t do anything. He had no choice but to take all the soldiers and related officers to bypass Mengding（孟定）, encamping in Mengjiao area with related Chinese officers, Liu Wansheng，Chen Can.
Huangguo (Orange) Event（黄果事件）
3 subordinate soldiers of Scott riding horses to rob the orange（黄果） of Va ethnic group at Mengdong（勐董） market in Yonghe, and shot a Va people who was selling orange. This event annoyed the Va and Dai people on the market, two of the soldiers were killed by the angry crowd. After the Huangguo (Orange) Event（黄果事件） broke out, Scott sent his armed forces to attack Mengdong and Yonghe wildly, burning, killing and looting, many villages were destroyed in the fire.
When Hu Yushan was informed of the Huangguo (Orange) Event（黄果事件） , he sent soldiers immediately to guard Wending Mountain（翁丁大山） between Mengjiao（勐角） and Banhong（班洪）. At the same time he allied 3 tribes, Yonghe, Shaoxing（绍兴） and Shaopa（绍帕） to fight against the British army. In the end the British was defeated fleeing to Myanmar.
As the failure of the Huangguo (Orange) Event（黄果事件） in 1900, the British colonists realized that they couldn’t conquer the people in Gourd King Area by force. But they were unwilling to give up invading Gourd King Area which had abundant mineral resources. Then they tried to invade local culture by missionary work, but the missionary sent by British colonists were excluded out of Gourd King Area by Hu Yushan. This missionary conspiracy was failed at last.They know it clearly that this King, Hu Yushan, was smarter and more powerful than the tigers siting in the mountain, if they didn’t wipe out him, they would not occupy an inch area of the Gourd King Area, not to speak of the glittering silver mine. So they tried their best to play new tricks to bribe Hu Yushan, but they met their Waterloo.Finally they cultivated pro-British, and sent spies to interior area of Awa mountain to map the topography, search mineral deposits, and transport rock specimens secretly. Even they sent troops to shoot our Va compatriot, firing local inhabitants’ village, so as to dismember and occupy our border areas, as well as loot the abundant mineral resources.
Subsequent Development
Later on, with the support of the whole society , as well as the people of Banhong and Banlao stick to fighting against the British, then the second frontier survey was begun from 1935 to 1937. Seeing these historical facts, the British finally admitted that Banhong area was part of China. In 1960, China and Myanmar solved the border problem smoothly and successfully, Banhong area returned to the embrace of the motherland.
Banhong Anti-British Battle Monument was named as an educational base of patriotism by the Yunnan provincial government. Now it is listed as a provincial-level base for “defence education”. We Va people inherited and promoted the self-improvement, struggled diligently spirit. We believe that under the guidance of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, with the support and help of the friends from various circles in China, we all join hands together to build a better tomorrow of Awa mountain.
Attraction Transportation
We can take the shuttle bus from the county bus station to Banhong town.
Travel Tips:
Pay attention to the rough road in mountain area.
