Japanese Pillbox at No. 75 of the Suzhou-Jiaxing Railway

Japanese Pillbox at No. 75 of the Suzhou-Jiaxing Railway

The Japanese pillbox at No. 75 of the Suzhou-Jiaxing Railway is a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangsu Province.

The Japanese pillbox at No. 75 Bridge of the Suzhou-Jiaxing Railway is located southeast of No. 75 Bridge on the railway in Quntie Village, Shengze Town, Wujiang District, Suzhou. The Suzhou-Jiaxing Railway was built in 1935 and opened to traffic in July 1936, playing an important role during the Battle of Shanghai in 1937. In November 1937, after the Japanese army occupied Wujiang, they heavily garrisoned the Suzhou-Jiaxing Railway and built many pillboxes along the line to suppress anti-Japanese resistance. The pillbox at No. 75 Bridge was constructed in the second half of 1938 and consists of three structures: a western pillbox (two-story), barracks, and an eastern pillbox (single-story), with a total area of 119.4 square meters. In early 1944, the Suzhou-Jiaxing Railway was dismantled in sections by the Japanese army. The pillbox at No. 75 Bridge is the only remaining pillbox along the entire railway. As irrefutable evidence of Japanese aggression in China, the Japanese pillbox at No. 75 of the Suzhou-Jiaxing Railway bears witness to the crimes of Japanese imperialism and serves as an important patriotic education site.

Historical Background:

The pillbox at No. 75 Bridge was built in 1938 and, after liberation, was used as a village rice mill and a storage warehouse for miscellaneous items.

In 2003, the town government carried out a comprehensive renovation of the Japanese pillbox at No. 75 Bridge of the Suzhou-Jiaxing Railway.

In 2006, it was listed as a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangsu Province.

After liberation, it was used as a village rice mill and a storage warehouse for miscellaneous items.

Current Condition:

The Japanese pillbox structures, from east to west, consist of the eastern pillbox, barracks, and western pillbox (two-story), all interconnected internally, with a total floor area of 119.42 square meters. The eastern pillbox is a single-story, fair-faced brick-concrete structure with a floor area of 12.06 square meters. It features one gun port each on the southeast, south, and southwest sides, with a platform inside beneath the gun ports for mounting machine guns. The barracks is a rectangular, single-story, flat-roofed, fair-faced brick-concrete structure with three bays, covering a floor area of 82.48 square meters, and also served as an ammunition depot. The roof of the barracks is on the same level as that of the eastern pillbox, with the roof constructed as a concrete platform. The northwest side of the barracks connects to the western pillbox, which has a floor area of 24.88 square meters. It has an internal wooden ladder leading to the upper floor, which has a wooden floor. The ground floor and upper floor have 2 and 7 gun ports respectively, and the roof construction is the same as that of the barracks and eastern pillbox. From the overall layout, the western pillbox guarded No. 75 Bridge, the eastern pillbox watched over the railway, and the barracks were mainly used for daily living and resupply. Structurally, the pillboxes are solidly built, representing typical military architecture, and the entire complex is well-preserved.

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Jiangsu Province