Martyrs' Cemetery of the Southern Anhui Incident

Martyrs' Cemetery of the Southern Anhui Incident

The Martyrs' Cemetery of the Southern Anhui Incident is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction, a cultural tourism site, a classic red tourism destination, and a patriotic education base.

The Martyrs' Cemetery of the Southern Anhui Incident is located on Shuixi Mountain in the suburbs of Jing County. In early 1990, the Anhui Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government built it to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the martyrs of the New Fourth Army who sacrificed their lives during the Southern Anhui Incident. It covers an area of 15 hectares, with a building area of 7,000 square meters.

The entire cemetery is composed of four commemorative spatial sequences: the entrance memorial monument, the theme square, the main monument memorial square, and the Tomb of Unknown Heroes, organically combined with the Exhibition Hall of Historical Materials on the Southern Anhui Incident. Centered around the memorial monument inscribed with the words “Eternal Glory to the Martyrs of the Southern Anhui Incident” personally written by [Name], and integrating with the mountain terrain, the various commemorative structures form a complete, orderly, solemn, and dignified unified whole.

At the entrance of the cemetery stand four seven-meter-high stone archways with features characteristic of southern Anhui. The number four symbolizes the four regiments of the New Fourth Army, while the height of seven meters alludes to the seven days and nights of the tragic and fierce Southern Anhui Incident, forming the first sequence of the commemorative space.

After entering the cemetery, ascending thirty meters along the steps leads to an irregular small square. On the facing retaining wall is embedded a stone tablet inscribed with “Martyrs' Cemetery of the Southern Anhui Incident,” written by Ye Fei, which highlights the theme of the cemetery, forming the second sequence of the commemorative space.

Turning right from the square, there is a fifty-meter-long spirit way with ninety steps. The fifty meters represent the 50th anniversary of the Southern Anhui Incident. The ninety steps are divided into three levels, symbolizing the nine thousand soldiers of the New Fourth Army who advanced eastward in three columns to fight against the Japanese. Ascending the spirit way through the Spirit Gate leads to the third spatial sequence, consisting of the memorial monument, the memorial corridor, the mourning square, and the Tomb of Unknown Heroes. The memorial monument is situated on the central axis between the memorial square and the spirit way. It stands 12.36 meters high and 27 meters wide, with a polished black granite surface inlaid with the inscription “Eternal Glory to the Martyrs of the Southern Anhui Incident” written by [Name].

The inscription. The body of the monument is gently curved, tall and soaring, using a simple yet grand form to symbolize the martyrs’ open and upright hearts and their noble, great spirit of sacrifice. Below the monument is a wreath carved from white marble.

The memorial corridor is lined with nine large traditional round pillars characteristic of southern Anhui. Among them, only two are intact, while the rest are uneven and broken, symbolizing that although most of the nine thousand brave soldiers perished, two thousand successfully broke through the encirclement. The seven-unit memorial corridor and the nine memorial pillars also symbolize how the New Fourth Army, after the Southern Anhui Incident, developed into a force of seven divisions and over ninety thousand soldiers fighting in the War of Resistance.

The main monument and the Tomb of Unknown Heroes are combined together, and the architectural space within the monument forms the fourth commemorative spatial sequence. On the sacrificial platform of the martyrs’ tomb, an eternal flame burns continuously, symbolizing that the spirit of the martyrs will never be extinguished.

Inside the historical materials exhibition room of the cemetery, there are inscriptions by the General Secretary and the Premier respectively for the 50th anniversary of the Southern Anhui Incident: “The loyal bones are buried in the green hills, and the spirit nurtures future generations,” and “Carry forward revolutionary heroism—the indomitable spirit of the martyrs of the Southern Anhui Incident lives on.”