Former Site of the Japanese Surrender to China in Gaoyou

Former Site of the Japanese Surrender to China in Gaoyou

The former site of the Japanese surrender in Gaoyou is a Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit, a classic red tourism destination, and a patriotic education base.

The former surrender site of the New Fourth Army is located at No. 70 Xihexiang, downtown Gaoyou.

On December 19, 1945, the Central China Field Army initiated the Battle of Gaoyou. Under the command of Commander Tao Yong, troops of the Eighth Column launched an offensive against the Japanese and puppet forces in Gaoyou who had refused to surrender. By the night of December 25, the assault troops fought their way through intense combat and entered the Japanese military headquarters. Realizing defeat was inevitable, the Japanese battalion commander Iwasaki agreed to surrender. A surrender ceremony for the Japanese troops stationed in Gaoyou was then held.

The surrender ceremony took place in the dimly lit hall of the Japanese “Hongbu” (now the Park Auditorium). At 11 p.m. on the night of December 25, Han Nianlong, Director of the Political Department of the Eighth Column of the New Fourth Army, and his deputy Xie Yunhui, entered the Japanese headquarters solemnly under armed escort. As representatives of the New Fourth Army, they ordered the Japanese commander, Colonel Iwasaki, to instruct all units to immediately disarm and surrender unconditionally. Colonel Iwasaki removed his sword and placed it on the table. After saluting Han Nianlong, he respectfully presented the Japanese personnel roster and the records of weapons and supplies with both hands. He then stepped back and stood at attention. Han Nianlong reviewed the documents briefly and ordered Colonel Iwasaki to designate personnel to accompany Chinese officers to various surrounded strongholds to order the surrender and disarmament, as well as to the squares and warehouses to inventory and hand over weapons and other materials. Han Nianlong also conveyed three directives to the Japanese officers present: First, surrendered Japanese soldiers and officers should return to their original locations and await orders. For safety, they were restricted to the compound and not allowed to leave. Second, deceased Japanese soldiers and officers could be cremated according to Japanese customs, and their ashes could be kept for transport back to Japan. Third, wounded Japanese soldiers and officers would receive medical treatment from both Chinese and Japanese medical staff.

Once these instructions were given, the ceremony concluded.

Throughout this process, Su Yu, Deputy Commander of the Central China Military Region and Commander of the Central China Field Army, along with his entourage, remained among the Chinese personnel, observing the entire surrender process. Only after the ceremony ended did he quietly leave the hall, exit the compound, go through the east gate, and return to the field headquarters. Even Han Nianlong was unaware of this until three days later, when Commander Su Yu received Japanese officers in Gaoyou. The Japanese officers were deeply surprised and repeatedly expressed “immense gratitude” and “the highest honor.” Colonel Iwasaki solemnly stood before Commander Su Yu, holding up a gleaming purple cold weapon high above his head with both hands, bowing deeply with shoulders nearly touching his knees, while murmuring: “I respectfully offer this ancestral Purple Cloud Sword to the esteemed Chinese general, whose name I have long admired.”

This surrender ceremony was the largest ever conducted by the Communist Party of China and the New Fourth Army under its leadership, and also the final surrender ceremony in which Japanese forces submitted to the Eighth Route Army and New Fourth Army under CPC leadership.

After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the county government converted the surrender site into a park auditorium. The site covers an area of 860 square meters, with a construction area of 612 square meters, and has now been repurposed as a badminton training facility.

In 2008, the Gaoyou Municipal Party Committee Propaganda Department designated it as a patriotic education base, and in 2010, the Gaoyou Municipal Government listed it as a municipal cultural relics protection unit.

In March 2019, the former site of the Japanese surrender in Gaoyou was included in the eighth batch of Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Further Reading:

· Eighth Batch of Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units