Heli generally refers to the mountainous area in the upper reaches of the Hani River in the middle section of the Longgang Mountains, including Guanghua Town and Da'an Town in Tonghua County, Jilin Province. During the Japanese occupation of Northeast China, it was under the jurisdiction of Jinchuan County (now Huinan County), hence also known as "Jinchuan Heli".

Heli served as the anti-Japanese base area for the 1st Army of the Northeast People's Revolutionary Army.

In September 1933, the Independent Division (predecessor of the 1st Army) relocated its repair workshop, clothing factory, and temporary hospital from Panshi and Narhong mountain forests to Heli, transforming the area from part of the southwestern guerrilla zone into a rear base.

In July 1936, after the Second Congress of the Southern Manchurian CPC, key leaders of the Eastern and Southern Manchurian CPC and the 1st and 2nd Armies held a joint meeting in Dahujiagou, Xinglin Town, Tonghua County—the famous Heli Conference.

The Heli Conference holds great historical significance in the development of the CPC and the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces in Jilin Province. The Southern Manchurian Provincial CPC Committee established at the meeting was the first provincial-level leading organization of the CPC in Jilin Province. The 1st Route Army formed was one of the most influential and combat-effective armed forces led by the CPC in Northeast China.

The unity of the 1st and 2nd Armies of the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces was further strengthened, triggering an upsurge of anti-Japanese guerrilla warfare on a larger scale.

In 1985, the Xinglin Town Government designated the Heli Base Area and Heli Conference Site as a Patriotism Education Base. Every year, primary and secondary school students and Party members and cadres are organized to visit the site, cherish the memory of the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces spirit, and inspire people to remember the past and history.