Zhanshan Revolutionary Martyrs Monument

Zhanshan Revolutionary Martyrs Monument

The Zhanshan Revolutionary Martyrs Monument serves as a patriotic education base.

The Zhanshan Revolutionary Martyrs Monument is located on the summit of Changshan Mountain in Chaijia Village, overlooking Taling in the distance.

Zhanshan is a revolutionary base area. During the Anti-Japanese War, under the leadership of the East District Party organization, the people of Zhanshan established an anti-Japanese democratic government as well as mass resistance organizations such as the Peasants’ Association, the Masons’ and Carpenters’ Union, the Sedan Chair Workers’ Union, and the Bamboo Weavers’ Union. They organized night schools to promote anti-Japanese and national salvation ideologies, mobilized the masses to join the resistance movement, carried out grain requisitioning and tax collection, implemented a 25% rent reduction policy, transported public grain to support the Siming Mountain Anti-Japanese Base Area, and encouraged people to enlist and fight. They also formed armed resistance groups to engage in fierce battles against Japanese puppet troops, successfully thwarting multiple “pacification” and “mopping-up” campaigns. The heroic deeds of the four siblings—Weng Zhiying, Weng Min, Weng Shining, and Weng Shijun—who all joined the resistance, as well as Wu Xing’e, who sent her children one after another to fight in the war, have been widely celebrated. During this period, a total of 34 patriots from Zhanshan sacrificed their lives for the country.

During the Liberation War, Zhanshan was a major operational area for the Zhoushan Islands Guerrilla Detachment and the East China Sea Guerrilla General Corps. The local population actively donated grain, money, and enlisted to support these two revolutionary armed forces with manpower, finances, and materials. Over 100 young and middle-aged residents of Zhanshan joined the “Zhoushan Detachment” and the “East General Corps,” among whom 20 martyrs gave their precious lives for the liberation of Zhoushan and even all of China.

In June 1992, the Zhanshan Town Committee and the Town Government, in order to honor the revolutionary martyrs and promote their spirit, invested 150,000 yuan to construct the Revolutionary Martyrs Monument. The entire monument stands amid evergreen pines and cypresses, covering an area of 650 square meters. The monument is 10.5 meters tall, with a shape resembling two swords piercing the blue sky; at its center is a block of red granite inlaid with a gleaming red star. The base is trapezoidal and consists of two levels, both faced with marble. The front features the seven golden characters “Revolutionary Martyrs Monument,” inscribed by Chai Songyue, then Deputy Secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee and Governor of Zhejiang Province. The back is engraved with the inscription, while the east and west sides list the names and life stories of 24 anti-Japanese heroes including Weng Shijun.

To deliver more vivid and intuitive patriotic education, the Zhanshan Town Revolutionary History Exhibition Room, serving as a supporting educational facility for the monument, was established in 1998 at the Town Cultural Center. Covering an area of 120 square meters, the exhibition room is divided into three sections: the Anti-Japanese War period, the Liberation War period, and the deeds of revolutionary martyrs. The displays combine texts and images to present a vivid and lifelike narrative, featuring 64 photos and nearly 10,000 words of explanatory text. The entire exhibition vividly recreates the spirit of the people of Zhanshan across various historical periods, especially detailing how, under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party during the Anti-Japanese War, they engaged in armed struggle and established anti-Japanese guerrilla bases. The martyrs’ section not only highlights the heroic deeds of Weng Shijun, a renowned young anti-Japanese hero from Zhoushan, but also focuses on the moving stories of his three elder sisters—Weng Zhiying, Weng Min, and Weng Shining—who participated in the national resistance. It also introduces the inspiring story of “Anti-Japanese Mother” Wu Xing’e, who sent three sons and two daughters to fight in the war and, after the sacrifice of her 15-year-old daughter Zhang Ping, resolutely sent her youngest son to join the New Fourth Army. The exhibition also displays memoirs written by Wu Xing’e’s son and granddaughter.

The exhibition room displays martyr certificates and some portraits of martyrs, among which the earliest certificate bears a personal inscription by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1958, making it particularly precious.

The Zhanshan Revolutionary Martyrs Monument and the Revolutionary History Exhibition Room have become important patriotic education bases. On major holidays such as Qingming Festival, Youth Day, the Zhoushan Liberation Commemoration Day, and Army Day, cadres, employees, league members, students, and even kindergarten children from across the town, district, and city come here to pay their respects and honor the martyrs. Every year, soon-to-be conscripts hold farewell ceremonies here before enlisting. Governor Chai Songyue and General Sun Changming have also visited the site multiple times to pay tribute. In August 1995, it was listed as one of the second batch of municipal-level patriotic education bases.