Datong "Ten Thousand People Pit" Patriotic Education Base (Datong Ten Thousand People Pit Memorial Hall)

Datong "Ten Thousand People Pit" Patriotic Education Base (Datong Ten Thousand People Pit Memorial Hall)

The Datong "Ten Thousand People Pit" Patriotic Education Base (Datong Ten Thousand People Pit Memorial Hall) is a patriotic education site.

The Datong "Ten Thousand People Pit" Patriotic Education Base is located in Datong District, Huainan City. It can be accessed via National Highway 206. This site serves as both a memorial and an educational destination, including the Datong Ten Thousand People Pit Memorial Hall, bunkers, water prisons, and the God of Coal Mine Temple.

Ten Thousand People Pit Memorial Hall: In 1968, the Datong "Ten Thousand People Pit" Exhibition Hall was built on the original site. In September 2005, the exhibition hall officially reopened to the public. Inside the hall, there are three north-south earthen pits, each 20 meters long, 3 meters wide, and 3 meters deep. The remains of miners from the Datong Coal Mine and anti-Japanese fighters who died of starvation, injuries, or were killed were successively dumped into these pits, totaling 30,000 bodies. These pits serve as irrefutable evidence of the atrocities committed by Japanese imperialism during its invasion of China, and they also provide an excellent site for patriotic education, especially for young people.

Bunkers and Water Prisons: 1. Rear Station Bunker: Located west of the former Datong Railway Station, it was built in 1943, stands 12 meters tall, and covers an area of 28.27 square meters. It is the tallest bunker built by the Japanese in Datong, controlling the east-west transportation route to prevent guerrilla attacks and worker uprisings. 2. Bunker Water Prison: Located south of the Datong Mine, now at the northwest corner of the campus of Datong No. 1 Primary School, it was constructed in the winter of 1939. It has two levels: the upper level is the bunker, and below ground is the water prison, covering an area of 44.18 square meters, with a diameter of 7 meters and a depth of 2.2 meters. 3. Secret Water Prison (also known as Indoor Water Prison): Built in the winter of 1939 along with the Bunker Water Prison. Originally located on the east side inside the south gate of the Datong Mine, it was relocated in 1968 to the northwest of the "Ten Thousand People Pit" due to mining-induced subsidence, preserving its original structure. The water prison measures 3.5 meters long, 2.5 meters wide, and 3.2 meters high. The Datong God of Coal Mine Temple was built in July 1941. It is a Japanese-style building with gray tiles and upturned eaves, located north of the campus of Datong No. 2 Primary School, covering an area of 94.5 square meters. The temple has an open space in front and a shrine inside. Originally, it housed three statues: in the center was Laozi riding a donkey with a string of copper coins around his neck, to the left was the Fire God, and to the right was the Water God. The God of Coal Mine Temple was a tool used by Japanese militarism and its collaborators to exert ideological control through feudal superstition and to exploit the hard-earned money of workers.