Bishagang Park

Bishagang park is located in Zhongyuan District of Zhengzhou City, covering an area of about 400 mu. It is one of the three famous parks in Zhengzhou City (the other two are: Zhengzhou people's Park and Zhengzhou Zijingshan Park). It is also the park with the longest history in Zhengzhou city.

Bishagang park is a historical site of China's modern revolution. The cultural relics in the park are well preserved. Zhongshan Park, martyr's temple and memorial tablet pavilion are witness of history. Every year, students from dozens of universities and technical secondary schools come to the park to pay homage to the revolutionary martyrs. On June 28, 1991, marshal Nie Rongzhen wrote an inscription for the new monument: "the soldiers who died in the northern expedition will live forever.". In July 2008, bishagang Park was named "patriotic education base".

Bishagang Park

Bishagang Park, located in Zhongyuan District of Zhengzhou City, is adjacent to Zhengzhou Artillery College in the East, Songshan road in the west, Zhongyuan Road in the South and Jianshe Road in the north. The area is about 400 mu. There is a South Gate on Zhongyuan Road, a west gate on Songshan Road, and a North Gate on Jianshe Road. The north gate and the west gate are the main gates. Bishagang park is one of the three famous parks in Zhengzhou City (the other two are: Zhengzhou people's Park, Zhengzhou Zijingshan Park), and it is also the park with the longest history in Zhengzhou city.

Historical evolution

Initial construction

In order to commemorate the dead soldiers of the second group army of the National Revolutionary Army in the northern expedition, Feng Yuxiang successively allocated 200000 yuan to instruct Xu Fuyun, the communications commander, to build the northern expedition

The cemetery of the fallen soldiers. At that time, 4 kilometers west of Zhengzhou, there was a loess hill, which was the end of Meishan mountain extending from southwest to northeast. The local people called it baishagang. It is filled with wind and sand all year round, forming undulating sand dunes. Because they can't grow crops, the villagers nearby just plant trees on their posts to prevent wind and fix sand. Building a cemetery here does not occupy the common people's arable land, which is exactly what general Feng wants. So he bought 400 mu of land for the construction of the cemetery. The cemetery started construction in March 1928 and was completed in August of that year. Feng Yuxiang named the mausoleum "bishagang" with the meaning of "blue blood and red heart, blood and yellow sand". Feng Yuxiang personally inscribed the name "bishagang" and carved it with stone and inlaid it on the north gate. There is also a memorial pavilion built in the cemetery. In the center of the pavilion stands a white marble stele with four big characters "blue blood and red heart" engraved on the front, which was written by general Feng Yuxiang himself. On the back of the stone tablet is the inscription on the memorial to the martyrs written by general Feng Yuxiang. The inscription on the memorial of the dead in battle: "take the white edge, paint the liver and brain For the Chinese nation, it is a great shame not to be swept away. This shame will not be snowed for a day, for fear that the spirits of the martyrs will be restless for a day.... " The inscriptions are simple and unadorned. Today, they are still loud and exciting.

There is a ancestral hall in the middle of the cemetery, named Zhaozhong ancestral hall. The ancestral hall is an ancient building, covering an area of about 4070 square meters. There are two halls in the front and two in the back, which are the place to place the spirit card. There is a corridor on each side. The gate has been rebuilt. There is an ear room on the left and right. There is a pair of stone lions outside the gate. There is a white marble pedestal in the center of the front courtyard, and the body of the tablet is in the existing courtyard. Nearly 100 square inscriptions are inlaid on the inner wall of the rear hall, which is an elegy written by Feng Yuxiang's generals above the division commander for the dead soldiers. There are five six corner pavilions in front of the ancestral hall.

When the mausoleum was first built, there were three gates in the north, lined up in a castle style. The middle main gate is majestic and majestic. On the front of the gate, there are three gold characters "bishagang" carved in stone. In the lower left corner, there are the words "inscribed by commander in chief Feng Yuxiang". The gate is adjacent to ZhengLuo road in the north, and there are three walls on the north, which are written with slogans such as "land is supreme, nation is supreme", "strength is concentrated, will is concentrated" and so on. Later, these slogans changed with the changing political situation. During the period of "Cultural Revolution", the three words "bishagang" written by Feng Yuxiang are "four old", which should be smashed. But because it's too high, it's safe from bad luck.

Feng Yuxiang is a believer of the three people's principles. When he was in charge of Henan, he changed Miaoli village into Zhongshan village, damengzhai village into Sanmin Village, and Wulongkou village into Wuquan village. None of these names last long. But the name "bishagang" he gave to the cemetery has been preserved for a long time.

When bishagang cemetery was built, it was composed of four parts. In the middle of the cemetery is the martyr's temple, which is divided into two halls, the north and the south, with red walls and green tiles. In the martyr's Shrine, there are various commemorative plaques, bronze plates engraved with the names of the martyrs, and gold books and steles recording the achievements of the martyrs. Before the ancestral hall is Zhongshan Park, which is composed of three pavilions of nationality, civil rights and people's livelihood, as well as a pool and a stone bridge. Behind the ancestral hall is the open cemetery of martyrs, each tomb is separated by two meters, vertically and horizontally. To the southeast of the cemetery is the people's livelihood cemetery, where the relatives of officers and soldiers are buried. A boundary stone is set between the martyrs' cemetery and the people's livelihood cemetery.

General Feng Yuxiang once planned to further expand bishagang park. In his article bishagang nostalgia, he revealed that he hoped to build a sanatorium for the disabled soldiers on the left side of the martyrs' Shrine, "which is as gorgeous and beautiful as the government departments." on the right side, a martyrs' orphan school will be built for men and women.

The failure of Feng Yuxiang's wish should be related to the current situation. At the end of 1928, the conflict between Feng and Chiang Kai Shek intensified, and the war among Jiang, Feng and Yan began to brew. As the situation changes suddenly, bishagang's reconstruction project will naturally be ignored.

After the bishagang cemetery was completed, Feng Yuxiang would go to the martyr's temple every Sunday during his stay in Zheng Dynasty to "offer sacrifices, and bow to the cemetery to add graves.". In his speeches and lectures, general Feng always praised the dedication of the soldiers who died in the northern expedition with the famous sentence of Wen Tianxiang: "no one has died since ancient times. He said:" although this generation of heroes are temporarily buried in the yellow sand and green grass, they will have a great reputation in the future Feng Yuxiang also asked his troops to go to bishagang as long as they went to Zhengzhou to pay homage to the martyrs, so as to "stimulate the revolutionary mood.".

Feng Yuxiang's favorite tree planting in his life, has the reputation of "tree planting general". Feng Yuxiang asked the management of bishagang to plant more persimmon, plum and peach trees in the gap area, less cypress and willow trees, and grain and radish among the trees. Many times, he said passionately: "after retirement, I will read, write and look at the grave here. After my death, I will be buried here and get along with my good brothers day and night."

Now the locust tree in front of the "West Garden Hotel" on the west side of bishagang Park was planted by general Feng himself. It is also the earliest tree in bishagang park. But this tree no longer belongs to bishagang.

After the completion of the cemetery, Feng Yuxiang specially sent his confidants to take care of it all the year round. The man guarding the tomb is Ge Xintian, who once served in the same class as Feng. Because Ge is several years old, Feng Yuxiang is often called "the eldest". Before 1949, the Ge family lived in the bishagang cemetery. In the southwest corner of the cemetery, the Ge family built more than 10 houses, built a small courtyard, reclaimed wasteland, planted some food and vegetables, and were self-sufficient. In 1956, when bishagang was turned into a park, Ge Xintian died.

After the end of the Anti Japanese war in the 1940s, Liu Ruming, Feng Yuxiang's old general, was appointed deputy director of the Zhengzhou appeasement office by the Nanjing government and led his department to Kaifeng. In memory of Tong Lingge, Zhao Dengyu, Zhang Zizhong, the senior generals of the 29th army who died during the Anti Japanese War, and song Zheyuan, the former commander of the 29th army who died of illness, Liu Ruming built two more pavilions beside the original three pavilions of nationality, civil rights and people's livelihood. Another memorial tower was built in front of the five pavilions, with the words "Anti Japanese martyrs will live forever" engraved on the front. But the pavilion in the East was destroyed in the war soon after it was built. The "monument to Anti Japanese martyrs" was destroyed during the "Cultural Revolution", leaving only a tower shaped base. In 1994, a monument to the northern expedition was built on the site of the monument to the Anti Japanese martyrs. Standing nearly 18 meters tall, the monument is inscribed on the front by Marshal Nie Rongzhen with 10 gold characters: "the soldiers killed in the Northern Expedition are immortal.". The relief across the monument is composed of the images of the soldiers of the northern expedition. Today, from the north gate into bishagang Park, this monument is the most striking building.

Renovation and reconstruction

The north gate of bishagang park we see today was rebuilt in 1979.

In 1956, the people's Government of Zhengzhou transformed the cemetery into bishagang park. On May 1, 1957, bishagang Park was officially opened to tourists.

During the "Cultural Revolution", according to the requirements of relevant departments, Jinshui District, Erqi District and Zhongyuan District of Zhengzhou city should each have a park. At that time, to the west of Songshan road was the Central Plains District. There was no park, so bishagang was zoned in the past and renamed "Labor Park" (October 1966 - November 1980). It is worth mentioning that the four words "Labor Park" were written by Mr. Guo Moruo himself. After the "Cultural Revolution", the gate of bishagang Park was rebuilt and its original name was restored. It is said that the plaque of "Labor Park" inscribed by Guo Moruo is still in Zhengzhou, and it has been collected by a person who "got the moon first". In 1986, bishagang cemetery was designated as a provincial cultural relic protection unit in Henan Province, because it is the largest and well preserved cemetery for the martyrs who died in the northern expedition in China.

Scenery in the park

Bishagang park is a historical site of China's modern revolution. The cultural relics in the park are well preserved. Zhongshan Park, martyr's temple and memorial tablet pavilion are witness of history. Every year, students from dozens of universities and technical secondary schools come to the park to pay homage to the revolutionary martyrs. June 2, 1991

Chinese PinYin : Bi Sha Gang Gong Yuan