Tashan Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery

Tashan Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery

Tashan Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery is a classic red tourism destination, a patriotic education base, and a national defense education base.

Tashan Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery, located east of Tashan Village in Tashan Township, Lianshan District, Huludao City, is 12 kilometers from the city center. Established on October 15, 1963, on the 15th anniversary of the liberation of Jinzhou during the Liaoshen Campaign, it is a provincial-level key cultural relics protection unit and a national patriotic education demonstration base.

Tashan has long been a vital transportation chokepoint between inland and coastal China, making it a contested military stronghold throughout history. In the third year of the Xuande era of the Ming Dynasty (1428 AD), to guard against persistent harassment by Mongol tribes and strengthen defenses in Liaodong, Ningyuan Wei (modern-day Xingcheng) was established north of Caozhuang and Tangchi, overseeing fifty households. Additionally, a separate Left Central Thousand-Household Unit was set up at Tashan, fifty li east of the city. In the fifth year of Xuande (1430 AD), Tashan City was constructed, initially spanning three li and 184 paces in circumference, standing two zhang and five chi tall, with three city gates: Hai’ning Gate to the south, Anping Gate to the west, and Yicang Gate to the east. In the 42nd year of the Jiajing era (1563 AD), Tashan City was renovated, raising its walls by an additional three chi. Several decisive battles during the Qing army’s entry into the Central Plains were fought here. In the 15th year of the Chongzhen era (1642 AD), on the eighth day of the fourth month, the Qing forces positioned red-barreled cannons west of Tashan City, breaching over twenty zhang of the city wall. After the fall of Xingshan on the 22nd of April, Huang Taiji ordered the destruction of the three cities—Songshan, Xingshan, and Tashan—though remnants of their foundations can still be found today.

On October 10, 1948, the Battle of Tashan began. The Fourth Corps, 11th Corps, Independent 4th Division, and 6th Division of the People’s Liberation Army engaged in a six-day, six-night bloody battle to block the Nationalist forces advancing from Jinxi and Huludao to reinforce Jinzhou. Overcoming the technologically superior and numerically larger Nationalist troops, they annihilated more than 7,000 enemies, creating a glorious example of victory against greater odds with inferior resources. The Battle of Tashan played a pivotal role in securing the PLA’s capture of Jinzhou and contributed significantly to the overall success of the Liaoshen Campaign by coordinating with victories in western Liaoning.

The cemetery is built on a 41.8-meter-high earthen mound, covering an area of 8,188 square meters. The monument stands at the highest point, a square white granite column with a raised front section featuring a bas-relief—a garland of large-petaled roses bound by broad ribbons, symbolizing eternal glory for the martyrs who sacrificed for China’s liberation. Above the left and right upper sides of the column are bas-reliefs of a five-pointed star and three flags, while the top is adorned with cloud-pattern engravings. The front of the column is inscribed with “Eternal Glory to the Revolutionary Martyrs of the Tashan Defensive Battle,” written on December 24, 1984, by Chen Yun, former deputy political commissar of the Northeast People’s Liberation Army Headquarters. The back of the base holds a bronze inscription plaque erected by the Fifth Huludao Municipal People’s Congress, with over 500 characters in regular script engraved in intaglio. To the south of the monument lies a plaza, with steps ascending along the mountain slope. The main gate faces south, and inside to the east is an exhibition hall designed in a traditional Chinese architectural style, with glazed tile roofing and ceramic tile cladding. The hall’s west-facing entrance includes a front porch, housing precious artifacts such as statues, banners, medals, charts, and photographs. Opposite the exhibition hall to the west is the cemetery management office, a simple single-story building with an east-facing entrance and a front porch. Behind the monument are the newly built General’s Tombs from 1998—three on the east and two on the west—housing the remains of Generals Wu Kehua, Hu Qicai, Jiang Xieyuan, Li Fuzhe, and Jiao Yushan. At the center behind the tombs stands a screen-like stone stele, with a black marble slab inscribed with “Tashan Heroes Live Forever” written by the Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission. The back of the stele lists the names of 741 martyrs in stroke order, followed by a circular granite tomb surrounded by white marble railings. Pine and cypress trees grow perennially on the surrounding slopes, keeping the martyrs company for eternity. At the foot of the western hillside stands a gabled gateway-style main entrance.

The Battle of Tashan is internationally recognized by military experts as a renowned example of a successful positional defense battle. The indomitable and heroic spirit of the martyrs in their arduous struggle at Tashan for the liberation of the Chinese nation will forever inspire us to march forward victoriously.

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