The Japanese Army Massacre Pit at Jinshanwei Fortress

The Japanese Army Massacre Pit at Jinshanwei Fortress

The Japanese Army Massacre Pit at Jinshanwei Fortress is a cultural relic protection unit of Shanghai Municipality.

The Japanese Army Massacre Pit at Jinshanwei Fortress is located in Group 4 of Weicheng Village, Jinshanwei Town. In November 1937, invading Japanese troops secretly landed at Jinshanwei, burning, killing, and looting along the way. After occupying Jinshanwei, within just three days, 2,933 people were slaughtered in Jinshan County, 26,000 houses were burned down, and countless women were raped. In 1966, monuments such as the “October 3rd Massacre Monument,” “Massacre Execution Ground Monument,” and “Massacre Pit Monument” were erected at Jinshanwei. In 1985, the county government built a pavilion and erected a monument at the landing site of the invading Japanese army at the South Gate of Jinshanwei Fortress to commemorate the victims.

On August 30, 2005, Phase I of the restoration work at the landing site of the invading Japanese army at the South Gate of Jinshanwei Fortress was completed. The site covers a total area of 1,500 square meters, featuring large-scale commemorative reliefs and sculptures that document the brutal atrocities committed by the invading Japanese army at the time, as well as the heroic resistance efforts of the Jinshanwei military and civilians against the aggression.

Chen Baolong, former Party branch secretary of Weicheng Village and currently responsible for compiling the village chronicles, and Zhu Chunsheng, who is now over 80 years old, recalled: after the Japanese invaders landed on Peijia Lane Beach, they swarmed northward. Upon entering Jinshanwei Fortress, they moved along Chuanxin River, passed Xizhuan Bridge, and then exited through the North Gate. Around 8 a.m. on the third day of the tenth lunar month, a group of Japanese troops that had invaded from Peijia Lane rushed into Ximen Town. They captured more than ten villagers who had not managed to flee, including Bao Diqing and Wang Amei. They tied them together with a single rope and, pushing and pulling them along, dragged them to a wasteland near Xizhuan Bridge. The Japanese soldiers raised their sabers and hacked at the more than ten villagers tied together on the rope. In an instant, accompanied by screams of agony, ten people were beheaded and dismembered, blood splattering everywhere, before being thrown into a pit. Later, when the victims’ families identified the bodies in the mud, they found that five of the corpses still had their heads and necks connected by flesh—an utterly horrifying sight. The inscription on the “Massacre Pit” monument also records: “A local farmer named Xiong Ada was killed in this pit, with one ear and half of his cheek hanging bloody by his neck. He regained consciousness in the middle of the night, covered in blood, crawled back home, but was stabbed to death again by the invaders the next day and thrown into the water pit.” “The Japanese invaders massacred over 50 local farmers here within just a few days.” Hence the name “Massacre Pit.”

Weicheng Village: Located in the southern part of Jinshanwei Town, Weicheng Village is the site of the town government. It borders Xuefu Road to the east, neighbors Jinyi Village to the northeast, adjoins Bayi Village to the west, lies adjacent to Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Company Limited to the south, and is bordered by Jinshan Avenue to the north. The total area of the village is 0.9 square kilometers. Originally, the village had cultivated land, but it has all been requisitioned due to the development needs of Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Company Limited and the urban expansion of Jinshanwei Town. It originally had eight villager groups, covering over 2,500 mu of land and a population of 2,821. Over the years, five villager groups have been disbanded due to land requisition. Currently… More details about Weicheng Village++