Meihekou Martyrs' Cemetery

Meihekou Martyrs' Cemetery

The Meihekou Martyrs' Cemetery is a classic red tourism site, as well as a patriotic education base and national defense education base.

The Meihekou Martyrs' Cemetery is located at No. 166 Yumin Road, Meihekou City. In 1953, the government of Hailong County built a martyrs' tomb on the West Hill of Meihekou to commemorate the revolutionary martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the battle to liberate Meihekou. In 1986, it was expanded into a martyrs' cemetery. Covering an area of 12,325 square meters, the cemetery is 145 meters long from east to west and 85 meters wide from north to south, surrounded by a 440-meter-long reinforced fence. At its center stands a 13-meter-high granite flag-shaped Revolutionary Martyrs' Monument. The front features an inscription personally written in July 1987 by Comrade Peng Zhen, then Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress: “Eternal Glory to the Revolutionary Martyrs.” The base bears an inscription by General Xiao Jinguang from March 1987: “Immortal Through the Ages.” The back of the monument is engraved with an epitaph composed by the Meihekou Municipal People's Government. About 25 meters from the main gate of the cemetery is a large gray-white stone relief depicting the Battle of Liberating Meihekou, measuring 6 meters in length, 2 meters in height, and 0.8 meters in thickness.

The cemetery houses a Revolutionary Martyrs Memorial Hall with a construction area of 520 square meters. It includes one prelude hall, two exhibition rooms, and one reference room. Each of the two exhibition rooms covers a display area of 180 square meters. A total of 205 photographs, 17 charts, 97 artifacts, and 150,000 words of text are displayed. The exhibits are detailed, rich in content, well arranged, and accompanied by professional guides.

There are two unnamed martyrs’ tombs and nine named martyrs’ tombs in the cemetery, commemorating a total of 1,083 martyrs who sacrificed their lives for China’s liberation and socialist construction. Among them: The joint tomb for unnamed martyrs has a diameter of 10 meters and a height of 3.2 meters, with its perimeter built from granite. The front is engraved with an epitaph by the Meihekou Municipal People's Government, and it houses the remains of 81 revolutionaries who died liberating Meihekou; another tomb contains the remains of five revolutionaries. The nine named martyrs’ tombs include one martyr from the Anti-Japanese War period, three from the Liberation War, and five from the socialist construction period. Over 2,000 trees of various species, including black pine, Korean pine, spruce, poplar, and phoenix tree, have been planted in the cemetery, covering a green space of 4,500 square meters.

The Meihekou Martyrs' Cemetery records the life stories and important historical facts of over a thousand revolutionary martyrs who sacrificed their lives in Meihekou during different periods such as the Anti-Japanese War, the Liberation War, the Korean War, and the socialist construction era.

Meihekou was an important area of anti-Japanese armed struggle in Northeast China. The Chinese Communist Party established anti-Japanese organizations and armed forces here, leading the people in arduous battles against Japanese invaders. Many heroes who fought in Meihekou left their blood and lives forever on this land.

During the Liberation War, the brave people of Meihekou, under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, fought valiantly alongside the Northeast Democratic Allied Army to seize political power, bring Meihekou back to the people sooner, and achieve the complete liberation of the Northeast. They made great sacrifices in battles such as the Three Campaigns South of the Yangtze and the Four Defenses of Linjiang, composing a heroic anthem.

During the Korean War, to defend their homeland, the people of Meihekou actively joined the fight abroad in Korea. With their young lives and the fervor of youth, they built an iron wall, demonstrating the fearless heroism and determination of the Chinese nation to overcome adversity and protect the homeland.

After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the people of Meihekou inherited the glorious traditions of their predecessors, giving rise to many new-era heroes, many of whom became revolutionary martyrs.

The Meihekou Martyrs' Cemetery is a key protected unit of revolutionary martyrs’ commemorative structures in Jilin Province. Since its establishment, it has played an important role in the city's spiritual civilization construction and patriotic education. The Zheng Peimin Memorial Exhibition Room was first built in 2003, originally located in Hailong Town, Meihekou City, Jilin Province. Due to policy-based relocation in 2004, it was moved into the Meihekou Martyrs' Cemetery. In September 2006, the cemetery was successively named a “Clean Government Education Base” by both Tonghua City and Jilin Province. It receives over 3,000 visitors each year for paying respects, visiting, and commemorating.