Site of the August 23rd Artillery Battle in Weitou

Site of the August 23rd Artillery Battle in Weitou

The Site of the August 23rd Artillery Battle in Weitou is a cultural relic protection unit of Jinjiang City.

The Site of the August 23rd Artillery Battle in Weitou is located in Weitou Village, Jinjing Town. Dating back to 1958, it is categorized as an important modern historical site.

The site includes three preserved structures: Dawu Building, No. 1 Anti-Artillery Bunker, and No. 1 Fort.

1. Dawu Building: Currently a two-story hybrid brick-and-stone Western-style building, facing south, it was initially built as a three-story structure in the early 1930s by the overseas Chinese Wu Dawu from Weitou. The August 23rd Artillery Battle reduced it from three to two stories. The building features exquisite brick carvings and holds significant historical and artistic value.

2. No. 1 Anti-Artillery Bunker: Located at the northern end of the ancient Weitou Street, during the August 23rd Artillery Battle, Weitou Village constructed over ten anti-artillery bunkers as emergency shelters for air and artillery defense. Among them, No. 1 Bunker played a crucial role in protecting nearly one-tenth of the village’s population.

3. No. 1 Fort: Situated on the “Huochuantou” highland at the Weitou cape, facing the Taiwan Strait. During the August 23rd Artillery Battle, it served as an important military stronghold where soldiers and civilians jointly defended and monitored the sea and air spaces of the Taiwan Strait and Kinmen Island.

On February 5, 2013, the Site of the August 23rd Artillery Battle in Weitou was designated as part of the fifth batch of municipal-level cultural relic protection units in Jinjiang City.

Protected area: Dawu Building: east to the surrounding wall, west to the road, south to the surrounding wall, north to the anti-artillery bunker. No. 1 Anti-Artillery Bunker: east to the open ground, west and south to the road, north to the elderly care home. No. 1 Fort: east to the beach, west, south, and north to open land.

The Yuxiu Building was constructed in the 1930s as a five-bay, two-story reinforced concrete structure with an architectural style that blends Chinese and Western elements. In 1958, during the August 23rd Artillery Battle between the Chinese troops stationed in Weitou and the Kuomintang forces in Kinmen, the building was hit by artillery fire from the Kuomintang, leaving numerous bullet holes on its outer walls and surrounding barriers, making it a historical witness to the battle.

An Yemin Memorial Monument:

An Yemin (1939–1958), from Kaiyuan County, Liaoning Province, was a coastal artillery soldier in the People’s Liberation Army. During the August 23rd Artillery Battle against Kinmen in 1958, he sustained severe injuries while protecting the artillery and later died as a martyr. The monument was erected in 1958, facing south, and consists of a five-tiered square granite base supporting a rectangular stone tablet, which is 1.7 meters high and 0.8 meters wide, with a total height of 2.5 meters. The front bears an inscription by Comrade Zhu De: “Eternal Glory to An Yemin, the Communist Fighter,” while the back provides a brief biography of An Yemin. The An Yemin Memorial Monument has been designated as a “National Defense Education Base” and “Patriotism Education Base” by the Fujian Provincial, Quanzhou Municipal, and Jinjiang Municipal governments.

Weitou Village: Weitou is situated at the southernmost tip of Weitou Peninsula, a protruding area on the southeast coast of China’s maritime economic zone in Fujian Province. The scenic area covers 3 square kilometers with a coastline stretching 6,500 meters. It has over 10,000 overseas and local villagers, a permanent resident population of more than 4,000, and around 3,000 migrants. To the east lies the Taiwan Strait, to the west the beautiful Weitou Bay. To the south, it is only 5.6 (or 4.7) nautical miles from Greater Kinmen Island, making it the mainland fishing village closest to Greater Kinmen. Weitou Port has been designated by the State Council as a “National Class I Port.” The construction of Weitou “National Class I Fishing Port” is underway. The village also lies along Provincial Highway 308... More details about Weitou Village++

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Municipal-Level Cultural Relic Protection Units in Jinjiang City

· Eighth Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units in Fujian Province