Zhao Yiman Memorial Park

Zhao Yiman Memorial Park

Zhao Yiman Memorial Park is a national AAA-level tourist attraction, a classic red tourism destination, and a patriotic education base.

Zhao Yiman Memorial Park is located in Yiman Village, Changshou Township, Shangzhi City, and is one of China's 100 classic red tourism scenic areas.

The park spans 600,000 square meters and includes a statue of Zhao Yiman, a national flag platform, themed group sculptures, memorial inscriptions, an Anti-Japanese Allied Forces well, a martyrs' wall, a wartime medical hut, the site of the Shilazi Conference, the ruins of the Chunqiu Ridge Battle, as well as attractions such as a wild raspberry garden, a wild azalea garden, a lotus pond, and a berry-picking garden. The themed group sculpture is the park’s iconic landmark, consisting of character statues, rocks from the main peak of Chunqiu Ridge, and reliefs. It recreates the scene of Zhao Yiman and Regiment Commander Wang Huittong fiercely battling Japanese puppet troops at the main peak of Chunqiu Ridge on November 14, 1935. The memorial inscriptions comprise 42 stone carvings, including "National Spirit," "Long Live the Motherland," and "Heroine of the Nation," enriching the cultural significance of the park and inspiring deep remembrance of the martyr Zhao Yiman. The Anti-Japanese Allied Forces well was used by soldiers for drinking water during their encampments and guerrilla operations on Chunqiu Ridge. Its design reflects the historical context of the time, recreating the original well pulley and rocky surroundings. Zhao Yiman’s wartime medical hut has been rebuilt based on the terrain and the actual conditions of her shelter, vividly reconstructing her recovery scene.

Construction of Zhao Yiman Memorial Park began in April 2008, and it officially opened to visitors on September 19 of the same year. It is now a provincial-level patriotic education base.

Zhao Yiman, originally named Li Kuntai, with the childhood name Shu Duan, given name Li Shuning, also known as Li Yichao, was born in 1905 into a small landlord family in northern Yibin County, Sichuan Province. She started attending private school at age 8 and, at 10, resisted her mother’s attempts—following local customs—to bind her feet and pierce her ears, refusing despite scolding and beatings. She once washed her feet in public, which was considered scandalous at the time.

During the May Fourth Movement, Zhao Yiman was influenced by revolutionary ideas. In 1924, her elder sister’s husband, Zheng Youzhi, introduced her to the Socialist Youth League through correspondence. In the summer of 1926, she joined the Communist Party, serving as the women’s committee member of the Yibin Prefectural Committee of the Communist Youth League and as the acting women’s minister of the county’s Kuomintang party headquarters. In the summer of 1927, after the collapse of the Wuhan government, she moved to Shanghai and then went to study at Sun Yat-sen University in Moscow, where she married her classmate Chen Dabang (Chen Dabang) the following year. In the winter of 1928, due to illness and pregnancy, she was recalled to China and engaged in underground work in Yichang, Shanghai, and Nanchang. In the spring of 1932, she was sent to work in the northeastern region, adopting the name Zhao Yiman. She led labor struggles in Fengtian (Shenyang) and Harbin. The following year, to protect her identity, she pretended to be the wife of Lao Cao (Huang Weixin), a leader of the Manchurian General Labor Union. In July 1934, she traveled to the anti-Japanese guerrilla zone east of Harbin, becoming a member of the Zhuhe County Central Committee and later the secretary of the Zhuhe District Committee. In the autumn of 1935, she also served as the political commissar of the 2nd Regiment of the 1st Division of the 3rd Army of the Northeast People’s Revolutionary Army, earning the affectionate title “Our Female Political Commissar” from local soldiers.

In the guerrilla zone, Zhao Yiman maintained close ties with the local people. Suffering from pneumonia and in poor health, she was affectionately called “Thin Li” or “Sister Li” by villagers under her alias Li Yichao. In November 1935, her unit was surrounded by Japanese puppet troops. She ordered the regiment commander to lead the breakout while she covered the retreat, taking a bullet to her left wrist. After being discovered while hiding in a village to recover, she fought back and took a bullet through her left thigh. She lost consciousness from blood loss and was captured. After being tortured repeatedly at the Harbin Police Department of the puppet Binhai Provincial Government, she lapsed into unconsciousness several times but remained resolute. When her life was in critical condition, the Japanese feared they would get no confession if she died and transferred her to Harbin Municipal First Hospital for supervised treatment. The Manchukuo police officer Dong Xianxun, who guarded her, and the hospital nurse Han Yongyi were both moved by her bravery and inspired by her anti-Japanese patriotic speeches, leading them to join the resistance. With their help, she escaped from Harbin in the early hours of June 28, 1936, heading toward the guerrilla zone.

On the third day, the puppet cavalry police caught up with the horse cart she was riding in, and Zhao Yiman was recaptured. The enemy tortured her for a month, but she only responded with fury: “You can turn entire villages into rubble, you can mash people into pulp, but you can never destroy the faith of a Communist Party member!”

On August 1, 1936, the enemy paraded her through the streets of Zhuhe County tied to a horse-drawn cart before her public execution. She sang “The Red Flag Song” along the way, bringing many onlookers to tears. She was executed at the age of 31.

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