This attraction introduction is compiled from historical materials in the "Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network" (33519.com · Scenic Spots section). Ticket prices, opening hours, transportation, and contact information mentioned in the text may be outdated. Please refer to the latest official announcements from the scenic area before traveling; some content consists of historical background/cultural introductions and is for reference only.
Hunan Provincial Third Normal School was originally located at Yanjiaping on the east bank of the Xiang River in Hengyang, facing the dignified and majestic Laiyan Pagoda across the river. Hunan Provincial Third Normal School was a school with a long history, once hailed as the "highest institution of learning in southern Hunan." It was founded in the winter of 1904, initially as the "Nanlu Normal School." After the Xinhai Revolution, in January 1912, it was renamed "Hunan Public Third Normal School." In 1914, "Public" was changed to "Provincial," and it remained at the original site. In 1927, the school was forced to close. In the spring of 1928 it reopened and was renamed "Hunan Provincial Fifth Middle School." In 1934 it was again renamed "Hengyang Middle School." In 1938, due to bombing by Japanese aircraft, the school moved to Leiyang, and the following year to Changning. In February 1941, in accordance with the provincial government's order that "schools be established according to war zones," the normal department of Hengyang Middle School was converted into Hunan Provincial Second Normal School. In the autumn of 1944, due to the fall of Changning, the Second Normal School was forced to move to Ningyuan. In the spring of 1945, it moved again to Lanshan, where it was jointly operated with the then Provincial Third Normal School (i.e., Chenzhou Normal School) and Provincial Eleventh Normal School, under the name Hunan United Normal School. In August 1945, after the victory of the War of Resistance, the Second Normal School separated from the United Normal School and moved again to Leiyang. In January 1950, the school moved back from Leiyang to Hengyang, temporarily using the premises of the former Third Middle School. In 1951, the current permanent campus was established at Huangchaling. In 1960, by decision of the provincial people's government, the original name "Hunan Provincial Third Normal School" was restored.
Hunan Third Normal School was the main base for the revolutionary struggle of the "Xiangnan Student Union" and a place where Mao Zedong carried out revolutionary activities in his early years. The CPC branch of Hunan Third Normal School, established in 1922, was the Party's earliest grassroots organization in southern Hunan. Under the Party's nurturing, hundreds of people, including Third Normal School students Chen Weiren, Li Qihan, Deng Zhongxia, Jiang Xianyun, and Xie Geijun, as well as school principal Jiang Xiaoqing, gave their precious lives for the revolution. Dozens of veteran proletarian revolutionaries who are still alive today were once students of the Third Normal School.
