The Last Battle of the War of Resistance Against Japan Cultural Park

Museum of the Last Battle of the War of Resistance Against Japan

The Museum of the Last Battle of the War of Resistance Against Japan is now listed in the National Directory of Key Facilities and Sites Commemorating the War of Resistance, and is a National AAAA-level Tourist Attraction.

The Museum of the Last Battle of the War of Resistance Against Japan (also known as the Gaoyou Campaign Memorial and the Site where Japanese Invaders Surrendered to the New Fourth Army) is located at No. 70 Xihexiang, Gaoyou City, Jiangsu Province. It is part of the second batch of national key facilities and sites commemorating the War of Resistance and is the only one of its kind in Yangzhou. The production crew of CCTV’s documentary “The Eastern Main Battlefield” and “The Final Battle” came to Gaoyou to film a special feature on the Museum of the Last Battle of the War of Resistance Against Japan.

Lieutenant General Su Rongsheng, son of General Su Yu and former Deputy Commander of the Beijing Military Region, invited General Zhou Keyu, former Political Commissar of the People's Liberation Army General Logistics Department, to inscribe the name of the Museum of the Last Battle of the War of Resistance Against Japan. Since its opening, the museum has become an important and distinctive patriotic education base, integrity education base, national defense education base, and red tourism destination in the Yangzhou area and beyond, both within the province and across the country.

The Gaoyou Campaign became the final battle against the Japanese invaders in China’s War of Resistance Against Japan. A report on the Gaoyou Campaign was once published in the Liberation Daily. On August 15, 1945, Japan announced its unconditional surrender. By the end of 1945, there was still one county south of the government of the Southern Jiangsu-Anhui Border Region that had not been liberated and remained occupied by Japanese puppet forces — that was Gaoyou City. From December 19 to 26, 1945, approved by the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China, the 7th and 8th Columns of the Central China Field Army, local armed forces, and the New Fourth Army’s Central China Military Region resolutely carried out Commander Zhu De’s orders. Troops were dispatched to accept the surrender of Japanese and puppet forces, and those who refused were decisively eliminated. Personally planned and commanded by Zhang Dingcheng, Commander of the Central China Military Region, and Su Yu, his Deputy, the Gaoyou Campaign was launched. The New Fourth Army’s Central China Field Army attacked the Japanese and puppet forces in Gaoyou who refused to surrender, and successfully recaptured the city. This marked the liberation of the last city in the War of Resistance, and it was also one of the county-level cities with the highest number of enemy troops eliminated nationwide.

Museum of the Last Battle of the War of Resistance Against Japan (Gaoyou Campaign Memorial): The museum is divided into six sections. Part 1: The Situation Before the Battle; Part 2: Strategy and Planning; Part 3: Battle Process; Part 4: Surrender Ceremony; Part 5: Keys to Victory; Part 6: Significance of the Battle. It features 76 photographs and images, 17 display panels, 4 diorama scenes, 1 group sculpture of New Fourth Army soldiers, 1 sand table model, and 2 videos. The exhibition space covers nearly 500 square meters and presents the full process of the Gaoyou Campaign through photos, artifacts, oil paintings, dioramas, and short films.