Martyr Zheng Cechen’s Tomb Pavilion

Martyr Zheng Cechen’s Tomb Pavilion

Martyr Zheng Cechen’s Tomb Pavilion is a cultural tourism attraction and a classic red tourism site.

Zheng Cechen (1888–1927), courtesy name Caichen, childhood name Riqi, also known as Zhenzhong or Chaoliao. He was born on March 26, 1888, into a well-off family in Biaoshan Township, Yongjia County. At the age of 16, he entered Zhejiang No. 10 Middle School (now Wenzhou Middle School). After graduation, he studied at Zhejiang School (located in Beijing) and Hangzhou’s Wang’s Arts and Crafts Training Institute. In 1910, he returned to Wenzhou and successively founded enterprises such as the “Zhongyi Straw Mat Factory” and “Zhenya Soap Company,” exploring industrial salvation for the nation. In 1911, when the Xinhai Revolution broke out, he went to Hubei to join the revolutionary army, participated in the student brigade fighting on the front lines, and the following year transferred to the Hubei Military Officers School. In the autumn of 1924, under the guidance of Xie Wenjin and Hu Gongmian, he joined the Communist Party of China and later became one of the leading figures of the Wenzhou Independent Branch of the CPC. He was sincere, magnanimous, selfless, resolute, steady, efficient, and deeply trusted and respected by his comrades.

From June 1926 to early 1927, due to revolutionary needs, he served in Hangzhou as the Head of the Commercial and Civilian Department of the Kuomintang Zhejiang Provincial Party Department and Director of the Preparatory Committee for the Hangzhou People’s Assembly. On April 11, 1927, reactionary forces of the Kuomintang suddenly surrounded Zheng Cechen’s residence at No. 12 Zhongxiao Lane in Hangzhou. To protect three comrades — Zhuang Wengong, Secretary of the Hangzhou Municipal Committee of the CPC, Hua Lin, the Propaganda Minister of the Municipal Committee, and Pan Fengtu — who were hiding in a back alley, he was arrested. In the early hours of July 29 of the same year, he was secretly executed in the Hangzhou Army Prison.

In 1956, the Civil Affairs Department of Zhejiang Province relocated Zheng Cechen’s remains from outside Qingtai Gate in Hangzhou to No. 1 of the Glorious Mound in Nanshan Cemetery. In 1993, to commemorate the martyr, with government support, local residents built Martyr Zheng Cechen’s Tomb and Memorial Pavilion in Biaoshan Village.

Martyr Zheng Cechen’s Tomb Pavilion is located in Biaoshan Village, Biaoshan Township, Yongjia County. The tomb pavilion covers an area of approximately 700 square meters. The former residence of Martyr Zheng Cechen is also situated in the village. The residence faces south and covers an area of about 700 square meters, consisting of two wooden structures, each with three rooms and two stories.

Martyr Zheng Cechen’s Tomb Pavilion and former residence are cultural heritage sites protected by Yongjia County and also serve as patriotic education bases in Yongjia County.

Source: Party History Research Office of the Wenzhou Municipal Committee of the CPC