Site of the Japanese Surrender Ceremony in Zhejiang (Thousand-People Pit Site)

The Site of the Japanese Surrender Ceremony in Zhejiang (Thousand-People Pit Site)

The Site of the Japanese Surrender Ceremony in Zhejiang (Thousand-People Pit Site) is a Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit, a classic red tourism destination, and a patriotic education base.

The Site of the Japanese Surrender Ceremony in Zhejiang is located in Songdian Village, Changxin Township, Fuyang County, Zhejiang Province. It stands as a testament to the aggression of Japanese imperialism against China and Zhejiang, and to their ultimate condemnation in the annals of history.

The Site of the Japanese Surrender Ceremony in Zhejiang covers an area of 4.3 mu, with a total construction area of over 440 square meters. In 1995, it was restored as the Zhejiang People’s Anti-Japanese War Memorial Hall. The site faces south and features a traditional Chinese architecture style with earthen, stone, and wooden structures, including a double-eaved pavilion-style building. It officially opened to the public in September 1995. Within its over 200-square-meter exhibition hall, the displays are divided into three sections: “Atrocities of Aggression, Ironclad Evidence,” “The Flames of Resistance Sweeping the Nation,” and “Celebrating Victory, Punishing War Criminals.” Nearly 200 historical photographs, images, and some relics from the surrender ceremony are exhibited, vividly and intuitively showcasing the atrocities committed by Japanese militarism in China, as well as the unyielding resistance and great victory of the Chinese nation.

A monument was also erected at the Thousand-People Pit site in Songdian Village, the site where the Japanese army massacred Chinese civilians. This serves as a base for patriotic and national defense education for the general public and especially the youth. The five characters “千人坑遗址” (Thousand-People Pit Site) were inscribed by Li Fengping, former Governor of Zhejiang Province. The back of the monument bears the “Inscription of the Thousand-People Pit Site Monument.” The monument measures 3.43 meters in length, 1.23 meters in width, and 1.15 meters in thickness.

The “Surrender Hall” was originally a main hall in the residence of Song Zuomei, a local landlord in Songdian Village, Changxin Township, Fuyang County, Zhejiang Province (now Zhongqiu Village, Shouxiang Town, Fuyang District). After the full-scale outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan on July 7, 1937, Fuyang County fell on December 24 of the same year. Subsequently, the 3rd Battalion of the 35th Regiment of the 22nd Division of the Japanese Army stationed itself in Songdian Village, with one of its companies setting up its headquarters in Song Zuomei’s home. Later, Songdian also became the Japanese Northern Jiang Command Post. The Japanese built extensive defensive fortifications in Songdian and implemented fascist rule in the occupied areas, engaging in arson, killing, raping, and looting.

The Thousand-People Pit site is located in a mountain hollow about 500 meters southeast of the Site of the Japanese Surrender Ceremony in Zhejiang. It was the execution ground and mass grave where the Japanese invaders killed our fellow countrymen. During that time, countless Chinese were captured and brought to Songdian, where they were either confined in wooden cages or water dungeons, burned alive, buried alive, or shot and bayoneted. During the eight years of bloody war, over 370 villagers from Songdian alone were brutally slaughtered by the Japanese, leaving the Thousand-People Pit filled with countless bones—a scene of utter horror.

On August 15, 1945, Japanese imperialism was defeated and announced unconditional surrender. Songdian Village, Changxin Township, Fuyang County, Zhejiang Province, was designated as the sole location for the surrender of Japanese forces stationed in Zhejiang.

On September 4, 1945, the Chinese representatives for the surrender ceremony—including Lieutenant General Han Deqin, Commander of the Third War Zone and Director of the Advance Command Post; Lieutenant General Shangguan Yunxiang, Deputy Commander; Luo Xiatai, Director of the Kuomintang Provincial Party Committee; He Yangling, Director of the Office of the Zhejiang Provincial Chairman; and Chief of Staff Zhang Shixi—accepted the surrender of the Japanese representatives, including Lieutenant Colonel Hizawa Kazuji, Chief of Staff of the 133rd Division of the Japanese Army in Zhejiang, as well as Daguoxiong, Otani Yoshikazu, Dofu Shouhong, Ooshita Hisayoshi, and Eguchi Shigeyoshi. The ceremony was presided over by Zhang Shixi. The Japanese surrender representatives stood at attention, removed their caps, and bowed to the Chinese commanders. They submitted certificates, Japanese troop deployment charts, rosters of officers and soldiers, and weapons inventories, then signed the surrender document. The wooden box containing the surrender document was reverently presented to the Chinese representative Han Deqin.

Because this site witnessed a major historical event, in 1950, Changxin Township was renamed Shouxiang Township (Surrender Township) in commemoration.

In 1995, on the 50th anniversary of the victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Fuyang Municipal Committee and Municipal Government allocated funds to restore the original surrender ceremony site—the “Surrender Hall.”

Geographic Location

The Site of the Japanese Surrender Ceremony in Zhejiang is located in Songdian Village, Changxin Township, Fuyang County, Zhejiang Province.

In 1996, the Site of the Japanese Surrender Ceremony in Zhejiang and the Thousand-People Pit Site were successively designated as Fuyang City Patriotic Education Bases and Hangzhou City Patriotic Education Bases. In 1997, they were announced as Provincial Key Cultural Relics Protection Units by the Zhejiang Provincial People’s Government. In February 1998, they were named Zhejiang Provincial Patriotic Education Bases by the Provincial Party Committee and Government. In 2005, they were recognized as the third batch of “National Patriotic Education Demonstration Bases” by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

Shouxiang Village: Comprising the former Zhongqiu Village and Dashuxia Village, Shouxiang Village is located in the southwestern part of Shouxiang Town. The village covers an area of 11.24 square kilometers, with a total population of 3,286, 1,098 households, 30 villager groups, 114 Party members, and 56 villager representatives. The villagers are distributed across nine natural villages. It is the largest administrative village in Shouxiang Town, and also the site of the Shouxiang Town government. The village hosts schools, hospitals, banks, and supermarkets, making it the political and cultural center of Shouxiang Town. It is also home to the provincial-level patriotic education base—the “Surrender Hall”—and serves as the main industrial... Shouxiang Village detailed information++