The Site Park of the Final Battle of the First Sino-Japanese War

The Site Park of the Final Battle of the First Sino-Japanese War

The Site Park of the Final Battle of the First Sino-Japanese War is a cultural tourism attraction.

The battlefield site of the final battle of the First Sino-Japanese War is an important patriotic education base in our city. It was designated as a provincial-level cultural relics protection unit by the Liaoning Provincial Government in 2003, and has now been submitted for recognition as a national-level cultural relics protection unit, pending approval.

In 1894, the First Sino-Japanese War broke out. In March 1895, the last and most tragic land battle of the war—the Tianzhuangtai Battle—occurred here, historically known as the “Final Battle of the First Sino-Japanese War.” The conflict was extraordinarily fierce. Patriot General Ma Yukun led over 2,300 Qing soldiers to fight bravely against an invading force of ten thousand Japanese troops. Despite their valiant resistance, they were ultimately overwhelmed and perished. The blood of these brave soldiers dyed the Da Liao River red. The ancient town of Tianzhuangtai suffered a devastating catastrophe, with raging fires burning for three days and nights, reducing the once-flourishing town to ashes. Following the defeat of the Qing army in the final battle, the Qing government signed the humiliating Treaty of Shimonoseki with Japan. Although the war ended in failure, the spirit of the patriotic soldiers will never be forgotten. To commemorate this battle and remind the nation not to forget this national humiliation, the Site Park of the Final Battle of the First Sino-Japanese War was established at the battlefield site.

The park stretches 1,000 meters from north to south and 300 meters from east to west, featuring ancient city walls, a cultural square, and a linear fence. The park includes “three 10,000s”: a 10,000-square-meter garden, a 10,000-square-meter cultural square, and a 10,000-square-meter lawn, achieving a green coverage rate of 65%. The original ancient city wall had 32 artillery positions, two of which have now been restored as vivid teaching materials for patriotic education.

On the gun platform, there is an iron cannon. This cannon was unearthed in 2003 at a depth of 1.3 meters beneath the roadside of the former Tianzhuangtai Grain Management Office. After expert appraisal by cultural relics authorities, it was identified as a Qing Dynasty–era cannon used for the defense of the Tianzhuangtai fort, and is a nationally protected second-class cultural relic. In July 2002, within the main battlefield site, charred remnants of grain and oil burned by the Japanese army after the battle were excavated at a depth of 1.2 meters below ground, with a grain layer 1.5 meters deep. The woven reed patterns of the grain storage pits were still clearly visible.

At the northwest corner of the park stands a memorial stele, with the inscriptions “Jia Wu Square” and “Liao He Square” on either side. The inscription on the Jia Wu Square stele is black, symbolizing the reminder to never forget national humiliation; the inscription on the Liao He Square stele is red, expressing the wish for the nation to prosper and the people to live happily under the leadership of the Party’s red government.

The cultural square is equipped with two basketball courts and 80 fitness facilities. The linear pathway features 40 solar-powered street lamps, providing residents of the ancient town with a beautiful and well-equipped leisure and recreational space, which is highly popular among them. Every evening, the square gathers over a thousand people for fitness and entertainment activities, bustling just like the Yunping Square in Dawei.

Tianzhuangtai Town: Located in the southeastern part of Dawei County, Panjin City, Tianzhuangtai Town borders the Da Liao River to the east and the Bohai Bay to the west, and is adjacent to the Liaobin Coastal Economic Zone. According to historical records, the area was originally inhabited by families surnamed Tian and Zhuang, and a Ming Dynasty beacon tower still stands to the west of the town, hence the name “Tianzhuangtai,” which has a history of over 600 years. The original town covered an area of 1.24 square kilometers. In 2002, after merging with the former Gaojia Township, its area expanded to 39 square kilometers, with a population of 35,000, comprising neighborhoods such as Pangjia, Zhongyangbu, Jiajia, Gaojia, Liyang, Baijia, Malian, Nianfang, Beida, Nanda, Matou, Shengli, Jiuyuan, and more... Detailed information about Tianzhuangtai Town++