The Revolutionary Base in Jinggang Mountains
In October 1927, Mao Zedong led the troops of the Autumn Harvest Uprising to the Jinggang Mountains in Jiangxi Province. They then developed armed forces in the counties of Ninggang, Yongxin, Chaling and Suichuan, waged guerrilla warfare, mobilized the peasants and helped them overthrow local tyrants and distribute their land, and established independent armed regimes of workers and peasants. Thus, the first rural revolutionary base in China was formed.
In late April 1928, some of the Nanchang Uprising forces under the command of Zhu De and Chen Yi and the peasant troops of the Southern Hunan Uprising reached the Jinggang Mountains, and joined the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army led by Mao Zedong. Consequently, these troops were reorganized into the Fourth Army of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army (later renamed the Fourth Army of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army), with Mao as Party representative and secretary of the Military Committee and Zhu as commander.
On May 20, Mao Zedong chaired the First Party Congress of the Hunan-Jiangxi Border Area, and a special Party committee with Mao as secretary was set up. In October, the Second Party Congress adopted a resolution Mao had drafted analyzing the conditions under which a small, independent worker-peasant regime had been able to emerge and survive, discussed its significance, and answered a question that had been raised by some people in the Party and the Red Army, of "How long can we keep the Red Flag flying?" Mao pointed out that as long as the revolutionary situation continued, it was possible for an armed independent regime of workers and peasants to survive and grow under the following conditions: (1) a sound mass base, (2) a sound Party organization and correct policies, (3) a fairly strong Red Army, (4) terrain favorable to military operations, and (5) economic resources sufficient for sustenance.
In December 1928, Peng Dehuai (1898-1974) and Teng Daiyuan (1904-1974) led the main forces of the Fifth Red Army into the Jinggang Mountains to unite with the Fourth Army. The Red Army subsequently repelled a number of enemy assaults, and the revolutionary base area continued to expand. At its peak, the total area covered the three counties of Ninggang, Yongxin and Lianhua, and parts of the counties of Suichuan, Ji'an, and Anfu.
In January 1929, Mao Zedong and Zhu De led the main forces of the Fourth Red Army on a march to southern Jiangxi Province and western Fujian Province to launch attacks there, while Peng Dehuai stayed with a contingent of Red Army troops to defend the Jinggang Mountains.
At a point when the revolution was on the low ebb, the decision to create the rural revolutionary bases was the correct choice for the Chinese revolution. It represented a strategic shift from cities to rural areas, and paved the way for the ultimate success of the revolution – encircling the cities from the countryside and seizing power by armed force.
井冈山革命根据地
1927年10月，毛泽东率领秋收起义部队到达江西井冈山，先后在宁冈县、永新县、茶陵县、遂川县等地发展武装力量，开展游击战争，领导农民打土豪分田地，建立红色政权，实行工农武装割据，创建农村革命根据地。
1928年4月下旬，朱德、陈毅率领南昌起义保存下来的部队和湘南起义农军到达井冈山，与毛泽东领导的工农革命军会师，合编为工农革命军第四军（后改称工农红军第四军），毛泽东任党代表和军委书记，朱德任军长。5月20日，毛泽东主持召开中国共产党湘赣边界第一次代表大会，会上成立了以毛泽东为书记的湘赣边界特委。10月，中国共产党湘赣边界第二次代表大会通过了毛泽东起草的决议，分析了中国红色政权发生和存在的原因，指出实行“工农武装割据”的意义和经验，回答了党内和红军内部有人提出的“红旗到底打得多久”的疑问：只要有继续向前发展的革命形势，有很好的党并制定正确的政策，有很好的群众，有相当力量的红军，有便利于作战的地势和提供足够给养的经济力，红色政权就能够存在和发展。12月，彭德怀、滕代远率领红五军主力到达井冈山，与红四军会师。此后，红军粉碎了敌人多次“进剿”，根据地不断扩大，全盛时期包括宁冈县、永新县、莲花县和遂川县、吉安县、安福县部分等地。1929年1月，毛泽东、朱德率领红四军主力向赣南、闽西挺进后，彭德怀率一部红军留下坚持井冈山的斗争。
在革命低潮时期，农村革命根据地的创建，代表着中国革命发展的正确方向，为中国革命的中心工作完成从城市到农村的伟大战略转移，开辟了“农村包围城市，武装夺取政权”的新道路。