Cemetery of Revolutionary Martyrs at Yuhuatai

Cemetery of Revolutionary Martyrs at Yuhuatai

Yuhuatai Martyrs Cemetery, located in Yuhuatai hilly Zhonggang, Yuhuatai District, Nanjing City, is the largest Memorial Cemetery in New China, the first batch of national AAAA tourist attractions, national key cultural relics protection units, national patriotic education demonstration base, covering an area of 1.13 square kilometers. The cemetery consists of five hills including the main peak of Yuhuatai, with the main peak as the center to form a north-south axis. From south to north, there are South Gate, square, memorial hall, Memorial Bridge, monument of revolutionary martyrs, large statues of martyrs in the north, north gate, tombs of martyrs in the west, tombs of martyrs in the East, memorial Pavilion, etc. In September 2016, with the approval of the State Council, Yuhuatai Martyrs Cemetery was listed in the Sixth Batch of new 96 national Martyrs Memorial facilities announced by the Ministry of civil affairs.

In September 2016, Yuhuatai Martyrs Cemetery was selected into the "first batch of Chinese 20th century architectural heritage" list.

historical background

According to historical records, in the early years of Nanliang Dynasty, master Yun Guang, an eminent monk, once set up an altar here. Because of the wonderful content, he moved the Buddha and immediately fell flowers like rain in the sky, so he got the name "Yuhuatai".

In 1927, Chiang Kai Shek launched the "April 12" coup and rebellious revolution. On the eve of the founding of new China in 1949, Yuhuatai became the execution ground for the Kuomintang to massacre chinese communists and patriots. In the past 22 years, about 100000 Communists, workers, peasants, intellectuals and other revolutionary volunteers and patriots were killed and died here, and the blood of martyrs was sprinkled here.

In 1950, in order to commemorate the revolutionary martyrs, Nanjing people built a 1.14 square kilometer Yuhuatai Martyrs Cemetery here.

Building distribution

Walking into the park from the north gate of the cemetery, the first thing you can see is a group of giant martyr sculptures. The images are made of 179 pieces of granite, 8 meters high and 8 meters wide, weighing more than 1400 tons. I carefully counted, this group of images created a total of nine glorious images of the martyrs. The evergreen pines and cypresses around the statue symbolize the immortal spirit of revolutionary martyrs.

The monument to the martyrs standing on the top of Yuhuatai can be reached by walking up the road of group sculpture ring mausoleum. The monument is 42.3 meters high, implying that the city of Nanjing was liberated on April 23, 1949. The whole monument consists of three parts: the forehead, the body and the pedestal. The forehead of the tablet is shaped like a red flag and a torch. On the front of the tablet is Deng Xiaoping's inscription of "Yuhuatai Martyrs Monument"; on the north is the inscription written by Mr. Wu Zhongqi, a famous contemporary calligrapher. In front of the monument is a memorial square with a reflecting pool and a memorial bridge. Two red flag shaped walls are made of granite at both ends of the pool. The international anthem and the National Anthem of the people's Republic of China are engraved on the walls in Han, Mongolian, Hui, Tibetan and Uighur languages.

Classical architecture

To the south of the monument is the Yuhuatai Martyrs Memorial. This is a group of "concave" two-story white classical buildings, 94 meters long, 50 meters wide, 30 meters high main fort, building area of 6000 square meters. The exterior wall is covered with granite, and the front door is inscribed with "Yuhuatai Martyrs Memorial Hall" by Deng Xiaoping himself. On the top of the banner, the pattern of the sun and the moon shining together is carved out of granite, symbolizing the spirit of martyrs coexisting with heaven and earth and the sun and the moon shining together. There are more than 1000 relics of martyrs, 450 precious pictures, deeds and documents of 127 martyrs, including Yun Daiying and Deng Zhongxia.

The whole cemetery is like a sea of pines and a forest of green bamboos. The martyrs group sculpture is a memorial hall made of 197 pieces of granite. It is located on Renjia mountain in the south of the main peak. The plane is a rectangular structure with an opening to the south. It is 92 meters long from east to west and 49 meters long from north to south. In the middle of the main fort, four stories, double eaves, 25.8 meters high. The name of the main hall was inscribed by Deng Xiaoping. Granite is pasted outside the wall and on the floor, which is simple and solemn. The museum displays the remains, portraits and historical materials of the martyrs.

Historical materials of cultural relics

The monument is located at the top of the main peak, covering an area of 10000 square meters. The monument is 45 meters high, square, 7 meters wide and 5 meters thick. The front is engraved with eight gold characters of "Yuhuatai Martyrs Monument" written by Deng Xiaoping. In front of the monument stands a bronze statue of the martyr, 5.5 meters high, entitled "rather die than surrender". On both sides of the ground floor platform, there are stone statues of the masses standing in homage to the revolutionary martyrs.

The statue of the martyrs in the North martyrdom is made of 179 pieces of ochre granite. It is 10 meters high and 16 meters long. It is composed of nine martyrs. It shows the noble spirit of the martyrs. The cemetery is composed of five hills including the main peak of Yuhuatai, covering a total area of 54.2 hectares. There are a pair of stone pillars at the main entrance of the cemetery, which are simple and solemn, about 18 meters high, symbolizing the road of "October Revolution" in Russia.

Inside, there are wide squares and flower beds. The tombs of the martyrs are located in the West martyrdom of Xigang. The memorial Pavilion of martyrs is built in the East martyrdom, and the group sculptures of martyrs in ochre granite are built in the North martyrdom. The statues are 10.03 meters high and 17.2 meters long. They are composed of nine martyrs, including party workers, intellectuals, workers, farmers, soldiers and students. The statues fully show the heroic spirit of martyrs before their death Qi. At the eastern foot of the main peak, a museum of historical relics of revolutionary martyrs has been set up, displaying revolutionary cultural relics such as portraits, letters and relics of the martyrs for later generations to watch and remember.

monument to revolutionary martyrs

The Yuhuatai Martyrs Memorial, the name of the tablet and the name of the martyrs memorial hall in front of it were all inscribed by Comrade Deng Xiaoping. Built in 1989, it is located on the main peak square of Yuhuatai, covering an area of 5010 square meters. It consists of three parts: monument, stele gallery and underground hall. The monument is faced with granite, 42.3 meters high. It symbolizes the liberation of Nanjing on April 23, 1949. The monument consists of three parts: the forehead, the body and the pedestal. The forehead looks like a red flag like a torch. On the front of the monument is engraved with eight gold-plated characters of "Yuhuatai Martyr monument" written by Deng Xiaoping. On the back is an inscription written by Jiangsu Provincial People's government and Nanjing Municipal People's government and by the famous calligrapher Wu Zhongqi. In front of the pedestal stands a bronze statue with the theme of "rather die than surrender", which is 5.5 meters high and weighs about 5 tons circular engravure.

Construction of Zhonghun Pavilion

Zhonghun pavilion was built by 300000 Communist Party members in Nanjing to pay special party fees. The building is composed of four parts: "Zhonghun Pavilion", "Zhonghun square", "siyuanqu pool" and "Zhonghun song". It was completed on July 1, 1996. "Zhonghun Pavilion", inscribed by Jiang Zemin, is located at the south end of the main building complex on the top of a slope 43 meters above sea level. The main building is 5.8 meters long and 8.3 meters high. It is a square reinforced concrete structure with a sharp roof and four doors. The West Pavilion skirt is engraved with the logo donated by 300000 Communist Party members in Nanjing.

Zhonghun square

Zhonghun square is located between Zhonghun Pavilion and memorial hall, covering an area of about 3000 square meters. The floor paved with emery is thick and tough, highlighting the deep and spectacular atmosphere of Zhonghun Pavilion.

The pool of siyuanqu is between the north slope of Zhonghun Pavilion and the south edge of Zhonghun square. It is 20 meters long, 15 meters wide and 1.5 meters deep. The moral is "never forget the martyrs, always remember; drinking water, from generation to generation". The relief of Ode to the loyal soul, designed and created by artists organized by Jiangsu Provincial Art Museum, stands on the East and west sides of Siyuan Qu, 20 meters long and 3 meters high.

Group sculpture of martyrs in Yuhuatai

Yuhuatai Martyrs group sculpture is the landmark of Yuhuatai scenic area. It was built in 1979. It is 10.03 meters high, 14.2 meters wide and 5.6 meters thick. It is composed of 179 pieces of granite, with a total weight of about 1300 tons. It has prominent theme, distinct layers, and the upper is solid and the lower is empty. They are the workers who wear shackles and despise the enemy; the intellectuals who look coldly at each other; the peasants who are angry with each other; the female cadres who are fearless in the face of danger; the newsboy who clenches her teeth and purses her mouth; the female students who are in prison and full of hope of victory; they vividly represent the glorious image of the nine martyrs who were brave and unyielding before they died.

The statue was built here because it was the site where the martyrs died in the northern martyrdom and the place where the most revolutionary martyrs were killed. In Yuhuatai, there are three places where the martyrs died. This is the North martyrdom. The martyrs killed during the ten-year civil war between 1927 and 1937 are concentrated here.

The eastern martyrdom is located at the foot of Donggang slope, where the reactionaries killed Communists and revolutionaries on the eve of liberation. The Western martyrdom is located at the west side of Zhonggang, where the Kuomintang reactionaries killed many martyrs and buried them. The wind and rain eroded the place and the years passed. The place was once covered with white bones, which was called "skeleton on skeleton" by the common people.

Get honor

In 1988, it was awarded the national key cultural relics protection unit;

In 2000, it was rated as national AAAA tourist attraction and national patriotic education demonstration base;

In 2005, it was selected into the "National Red Tourism classic scenic spot list" and became one of the important revolutionary memorial sites in the "2004-2010 national red tourism development planning outline";

In September 2016, it was selected into the list of the Sixth Batch of national Martyrs Memorial facilities.

In September 2016, Yuhuatai Martyrs Cemetery was selected into the "first batch of Chinese 20th century architectural heritage" list.

Traffic information

Take subway line 1, get off at Zhonghuamen station, and walk about 700 meters to Yuhuatai north gate.

Chinese PinYin : Yu Hua Tai Lie Shi Ling Yuan