Snowflake Martyrs' Cemetery

Snowflake Martyrs' Cemetery

Snowflake Martyrs' Cemetery is a national AA-level tourist attraction, a Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit, a classic red tourism destination, a patriotism education base, and a national defense education base.

Snowflake Cemetery (also known as Snowflake Martyrs' Cemetery) is located in Bancheng Town, Sihong County, adjacent to the scenic Hongze Lake area. It lies about 25 kilometers from the county seat and 70 kilometers from downtown Suqian, and is classified as a cultural and scenic tourism area. During the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Fourth Division of the New Fourth Army fought bravely against the Japanese invaders and stubborn bandits to establish the Yu-Wan-Su Base Area, achieving victory after victory, and winning widespread support and admiration from the local people.

Peng Xuefeng was an outstanding commander in the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army, the Eighth Route Army, and the New Fourth Army. Originally named Peng Xiudao, he was born on September 9, 1907, in Qilizhuang, Zhenping County, Henan Province. In June 1925, he joined the Communist Youth League of China, and in September 1926, he became a member of the Communist Party of China. In May 1930, he came from the Central Military Commission in Shanghai to the Red Army forces in the Soviet Area, successively serving as political commissar of a Red Army brigade (column, division), political commissar of the Jiangxi Military District, political commissar of the Red Army University, and director of the First Bureau of the Chinese Revolutionary Military Commission. In October 1934, he participated in the Long March, serving as captain of the First Advance Column of the Military Commission’s First Field Column, division commander of the Fifth Division of the Third Red Army Corps, commander of the Second Column of the Shaanxi-Gansu Detachment, and political commissar of the Fourth Division of the First Red Army Corps. In every battle fought by the Central Red Army, he fought bravely at the forefront and achieved remarkable feats, earning the title of “outstanding young general and exemplary political commissar of the Central Red Army,” and was awarded the “Red Star Medal.” In the autumn of 1936, he was sent to Taiyuan and other places to carry out united front work, uniting patriotic figures from all walks of life and coordinating with Yan Xishan to resist Japan. He served as head of the General Staff Office and director of the Shanxi Office of the Eighth Route Army Headquarters. In the spring of 1938, he was transferred to Zhugou, Queshan, Henan Province, where he served as head of the military department of the Henan Provincial Committee, organizing and training anti-Japanese armed forces. In September of the same year, he formed the New Fourth Army Guerrilla Detachment, serving as its commander and political commissar, leading the establishment of the Yu-Wan-Su Border Region Anti-Japanese Democratic Base Area. He subsequently served as secretary of the Yu-Wan-Su Border Region Committee, commander and political commissar of the Sixth Detachment of the New Fourth Army, and commander of the Fourth Column of the Eighth Route Army. After the Southern Anhui Incident in 1941, he became commander of the Fourth Division of the New Fourth Army and commander of the Huaibei Military District, taking charge of leadership in an independent strategic area behind enemy lines in Central China. He led the troops and civilians in the base area in arduous struggles against the Japanese puppet and stubborn forces, achieving successive victories in the 1942 Huaibei Winter Anti-“Mopping-Up” Campaign and the 1943 Shanzitou Battle, consolidating and developing the Huaibei Base Area. In August 1944, in accordance with the CPC Central Committee’s directive to advance into the enemy’s rear in Henan, he commanded his troops in the Western Advance Campaign. On September 11, while directing combat operations in Balizhuang, Xiayi County, Henan Province, he was fatally struck by a stray bullet at the age of 37. Peng Xuefeng’s short but brilliant life embodied the unswerving revolutionary spirit and noble character of a Communist Party member devoted to the nation and the people. Mao Zedong and Zhu De praised him as “a fine example of a Communist.”

His remains were buried in the western suburbs of Bancheng, where the Fourth Division of the New Fourth Army and the liberated areas of Huaibei were based, in February 1945. To commemorate Peng Xuefeng and other martyrs who died in the War of Resistance, in May of the same year, the Party Committee and Administrative Office of the Huaibei Liberated Area built a cemetery at the burial site, covering an area of 157 mu. Liu RuiLong, director of the Huaibei Administrative Office, personally served as head of the construction committee, with Qian Zhengying as head of the engineering section. The construction included General Peng Xuefeng’s Tomb, the Monument to Martyrs of the War of Resistance, and the Fragrant Grass Pavilion, recording the names of over four thousand martyrs. A rockery was piled up, forming a crescent-shaped pool. It became a commemorative garden in the anti-Japanese base area. At the end of 1946, it was damaged by the Nationalist’s Homecoming Corps; General Peng Xuefeng’s Tomb was desecrated, the statue of the New Fourth Army soldier atop the monument was destroyed, and the Fragrant Grass Pavilion was burned down. In 1949, General Peng Xuefeng’s Tomb was rebuilt. After liberation, a memorial hall and stele corridor were added. The stele corridor houses elegiac couplets and inscriptions written by veteran revolutionaries such as Mao Zedong and Zhu De, as well as veterans of the New Fourth Army. The cemetery is planted with evergreen pines and cypresses, symbolizing the everlasting spirit of the martyrs. Today, the cemetery is solemn and dignified, with simple and elegant architecture, lush trees, and fragrant grass. The memorial structures and historical relics hold significant revolutionary historical value and serve as profound sites for commemoration and education.

Snowflake Cemetery is a national key cultural relics protection unit for martyrs’ memorials, a key cultural relics protection unit in Jiangsu Province, a patriotism education base, and a national defense education demonstration base. It is also a national AA-level tourist attraction.

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units