Western Anhui Martyrs' Cemetery

Western Anhui Martyrs' Cemetery

The Western Anhui Martyrs' Cemetery is a classic red tourism destination and a patriotic education base.

The Western Anhui Martyrs' Cemetery is located in the center of Lu'an City, Anhui Province. Established in 1953, it was built by the nation to commemorate major historical events such as the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Revolutionary Base, the birthplace of the Fourth Red Army, and the Long March of Liu and Deng's forces into the Dabie Mountains, as well as to honor revolutionary martyrs. Covering an area of 85 mu, the site has undergone three large-scale renovations in 1957, 1989, and 2004. It now features over ten commemorative facilities, including a Martyrs' Memorial Tower, Memorial Hall, statues, sculptures, stele forest, pavilions, corridors, and a mourning square. A total of 263 volumes of archives on notable martyrs have been collected, along with over 300 martyr relics and photos, 550 books and documents, 1,083 currency and vouchers, and more than 100 pieces of combat weaponry, including 13 national first-class cultural relics. The cemetery displays the deeds of 106 famous martyrs from Western Anhui. Since its establishment, it has been visited by proletarian revolutionaries of the older generation such as Zhu De and Liu Bocheng, notable figures like Zhu Yunshan and Zhao Puchu, as well as international friends from Eastern Europe, North Korea, and Vietnam, and compatriots from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan. Recognizing its commemorative significance and architectural scale, it was approved by the State Council in 1989 as a National Key Martyrs' Memorial Building Protection Unit; in 1995, it was designated by the Ministry of Civil Affairs as a National Patriotic Education Base; in 2004, it was listed by the National Red Tourism Office as one of China’s 100 Classic Red Tourism Scenic Areas; in 2009, it was named a National Patriotic Education Demonstration Base by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee and awarded the title of Chinese People's Liberation Army National Defense Education Base by the Central Military Commission; in 2010, it received the designation of “National and Provincial Model Unit for Ethical Conduct in Civil Affairs System” from the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the provincial civil affairs department. Managed by the civil affairs department, the cemetery receives over 300,000 visitors annually.

The newly rebuilt Martyrs' Memorial Hall has two floors, with a construction area of 2,700 square meters. Utilizing dioramas, cultural relics, sculptures, photographs, oil paintings, texts, and scene reconstructions, along with modern high-tech methods such as sound, light, and electricity, it showcases the heroic achievements and revolutionary spirit of the outstanding sons and daughters of the Dabie Mountain region, especially those from Western Anhui, during the revolutionary war years. The newly created large relief sculpture "Glittering Stars of Generals" is 30 meters long and 10 meters high, featuring full-body, half-body, and portrait carvings of 108 founding generals from Western Anhui who came from the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Revolutionary Base. Two new sculptures, "Osmanthus Blooms Everywhere in August" and "Long March into the Dabie Mountains," depict the scenes of the three major uprisings in the Dabie Mountain region—the Huangma, Lixia Festival, and Liuhuo Uprisings—and the actual combat of Liu and Deng's forces as they advanced a thousand miles into the Dabie Mountains. The cemetery also has over 20 commemorative stone carvings, placed among pavilions and corridors and on lush green lawns.

Over the past half-century, the Western Anhui Martyrs' Cemetery has played an important role in the “six constructions” of socialist economy, politics, culture, society, national defense, and the Party. It has become a truly authentic patriotic education base for both the city and the nation. The renovated cemetery integrates “ecologization, gardenization, landscaping, and humanistic design,” achieving a leap in the work of commemorating martyrs under new circumstances—from being closed-off to open, and from single-function to multi-functional. It serves not only as an educational base for paying tribute to martyrs and inspiring future generations but also as a cultural landscape that blends ideology and culture, as well as a great place for people to learn, travel, and relax.