Relics of the August 23rd Artillery Battle in Weitou

Relics of the August 23rd Artillery Battle in Weitou

The relics of the August 23rd Artillery Battle in Weitou are designated as a cultural relic protection unit of Fujian Province.

The relics of the August 23rd Artillery Battle in Weitou are located in Weitou Village, Jinjing Town, Jinjiang City, dating back to 1958.

Description: On August 23, 1958, the People's Liberation Army on the Fujian front and the garrison troops in Kinmen, Taiwan, engaged in an artillery battle that lasted for 22 years until it ceased on January 1, 1979. As a main battleground of the artillery battle, Weitou Village retains many war relics, mainly including Yuxiu Building, the Martyr An Yemin Memorial Monument, Dayu Building, No. 1 Anti-Artillery Shelter, and No. 1 Fort. Yuxiu Building, constructed in the 1930s, is a two-story reinforced concrete structure combining Chinese and Western architectural styles. It was hit during the August 23rd Artillery Battle, leaving numerous bullet holes on its outer walls and fences. The Martyr An Yemin Memorial Monument was erected in 1958, facing south, with a square five-tier granite base supporting a 1.7-meter-high and 0.8-meter-wide stone tablet. The front of the tablet bears the inscription by Zhu De, then Vice Chairman of the CPC Central Committee and Vice President of the People’s Republic of China: “Eternal Glory to An Yemin, the Communist Fighter.” The back features a brief biography of Martyr An Yemin. An Yemin (1939–1958), from Kaiyuan County, Liaoning Province, was a coastal artillery soldier in the PLA who heroically sacrificed his life during the August 23rd Artillery Battle. Dayu Building was built in the early 1930s by overseas Chinese from the Philippines. It is a three-story Western-style brick-and-stone building facing south, with its third floor destroyed during the August 23rd Artillery Battle. No. 1 Anti-Artillery Shelter: During the August 23rd Artillery Battle, Weitou Village built more than ten anti-artillery shelters as emergency refuge sites for air defense and artillery protection. Among them, No. 1 Shelter is 35 meters long, 2.5 meters wide, and 2.5 meters high, playing a crucial role in protecting nearly one-tenth of the village’s population. No. 1 Fort is located at the “Huochuantou” highland on the Weitou cape and once served as an important military outpost for monitoring and guarding the sea and air space over the Taiwan Strait and Kinmen Island.

In 2013, the relics of the August 23rd Artillery Battle in Weitou were announced by the People’s Government of Fujian Province as part of the eighth batch of provincial-level cultural relic protection units.

Protected area: A perimeter boundary around Yuxiu Building extending to its surrounding walls; the Martyr An Yemin Memorial Monument extends 10 meters east and west, 30 meters south, and 5 meters north; Dayu Building includes the front courtyard, rear wall, left wall, and right village road; No. 1 Fort has a 5-meter extension around all sides; No. 1 Anti-Artillery Shelter also extends 5 meters around all sides.

Weitou Village: Weitou is located at the southernmost tip of Weitou Peninsula, a protruding area on the southeast coast of China’s West Coast Economic Zone in Fujian Province. The scenic area covers 3 square kilometers with a coastline of 6,500 meters. The village is home to over 10,000 overseas and local compatriots, with a permanent population of more than 4,000 and about 3,000 migrants. It faces the Taiwan Strait to the east and the beautiful Weitou Bay to the west. 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,” and the construction of Weitou “National First-Class Fishing Port” is underway. Provincial Highway 308 runs through Weitou… More detailed information about Weitou Village++