Siping Liberation Martyrs Memorial Tower

Siping Liberation Martyrs Memorial Tower

The Siping Liberation Martyrs Memorial Tower is a cultural relic protection unit of Jilin Province and a classic red tourism site.

This tower is located in the center of the square at the intersection of Yingxiong Avenue and Xinhua Avenue in Tiexi District, Siping City. It neighbors the Siping Campaign Memorial Hall to the west and stands about 600 meters east of Siping Railway Station. The overall structure consists of the tower, an archway, and a tower garden, covering an area of approximately 19,000 square meters. The memorial tower has a total height of 23.25 meters, with a two-tiered circular base, the largest radius of which is 15 meters. The pedestal is a nine-tiered circular platform with a maximum radius of 9 meters, built with granite stone strips. On top of the pedestal sits an octahedral tower chamber, which is hollow inside and connected to the tower top via a staircase. Twenty large fluted columns encircle the exterior, supporting the roof of the tower chamber and lifting the main body of the tower off the ground. The tower itself is pyramid-shaped with a brushed plaster finish. Atop the tower sits an iron-made red five-pointed star, with an eight-face clock embedded on the front upper part.

The archway is located about 30 meters directly in front of the memorial tower, standing 5.91 meters tall with a brushed plaster finish. Its base is a five-tiered rectangular platform, 0.65 meters high, with the longest side measuring 13.98 meters. Four square pillars stand side by side atop the base; the two inner pillars are 5.26 meters tall and spaced 3.78 meters apart, while the two outer pillars are 4.66 meters tall, set 1.78 meters away from the inner ones. Above the pillars are horizontal inscribed plaques shaped like fans, also finished with brushed plaster. The central plaque is topped with an iron-made red five-pointed star. The tower garden is circular, centered on the tower base with a radius of 54 meters. It is landscaped with flowers, grass, and evergreen pine and cypress trees. From March 1946 to March 1948, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army and opposing forces fought four major battles in Siping, during which over 60,000 troops from units such as the New 1st Army, New 6th Army, and 71st Army were defeated. Tens of thousands of soldiers, including Ma Renxing, commander of the 1st Division of the Liaji Column of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, sacrificed their lives heroically.

To commemorate the martyrs who bravely gave their lives for the liberation of Siping and their great achievements, in January 1949, the Liaobei Provincial Government proposed a plan to build the memorial tower. The plan was approved on September 19 of the same year by the Northeast Administrative Committee and the Northeast Military Commission. The foundation stone was laid on May 7, 1950, and the project was completed in 1952.

On the front of the tower, the vertical inscription reads a quote from [name omitted]: “The martyrs who sacrificed themselves for the people will live forever.” The right side features a quote from Gao Gang: “Shining as long as the sun and moon, enduring as the mountains and rivers, the soldiers of the people will live forever.” The left side displays a quote from Lin Feng: “The finest sons and daughters of China shall be remembered for eternity.” The back bears a quote from Tao Zhu: “With noble aspiration, the flower of sacrifice remains ever green; shedding blood on the earth leaves even the soil fragrant.” The inscribed plaques and couplets on the archway were written by Yan Baohang. The central plaque reads: “Siping Martyrs Memorial Tower.” The couplet on the two inner square pillars of the archway reads: “The revolutionary cause endures through the ages,” and “The martyrs’ glory illuminates the mountains and rivers.” The quotes from [name omitted] were later erased between 1954 and 1971, leaving only the words “Siping Martyrs Memorial Tower.”

On April 13, 1961, the People’s Committee of Jilin Province designated this tower as a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit.