Monument to Martyrs Wang Xingfang and Zhang Qinzhi

Monument to Martyrs Wang Xingfang and Zhang Qinzhi

The Monument to Martyrs Wang Xingfang and Zhang Qinzhi is located on Fuding Rock by the sea in Haoyue Garden on Gulangyu Island. Facing southeast and situated northwest, the monument was built in the early 1950s. It has a square pyramid shape and is constructed of brick with an exterior coating of cement mortar. The monument stands 4 meters tall in total. The front and back of the monument are inscribed in semi-cursive script with the names, positions, and dates of martyrdom of martyrs Wang Xingfang and Zhang Qinzhi. Wang Xingfang, from Weixian County, Shandong Province (now part of Weifang City), was the regimental commander of the 271st Regiment, 91st Division of the People's Liberation Army Infantry; Zhang Qinzhi, from Haiyang County, Shandong Province, was the deputy chief of staff of the 272nd Regiment, 91st Division of the People's Liberation Army. Both sacrificed their lives during the Battle of Xiamen in September–October 1949.

Wang Xingfang was born in July 1911 into a farming family in Weixian County, Shandong Province (now part of Weifang City). He attended a private school at age 7 and two years later entered a local elementary school. In January 1924, due to poverty, he left school to become an apprentice, working successively as a miner at the Zhaoyuan Gold Mine in eastern Shandong, a sailor at the Bohai Bay Shipping Company, and a dockworker at the Longkou Harbor Wharf, making a living through hard labor. It was during this time that Wang Xingfang began to be exposed to Marxist ideology. He often read progressive publications and gradually came to understand that the poor would never have a way out unless the corrupt social system of human exploitation and oppression was overthrown... More details about Wang Xingfang ++

Zhang Qinzhi (1924–1949) was from Haiyang, Shandong. As a child, he herded cattle for others due to his family’s poverty. In 1940, during the Republic of China era, he became an apprentice in Yantai but fled the city due to unbearable oppression by his boss. In 1942, he joined the Eighth Route Army. After enlisting, he was diligent and brave in battle, rising through the ranks to serve as squad leader, platoon leader, company commander, battalion commander, and eventually regimental chief of staff. In December 1948, during the Huaihai Campaign, he served as commander of the special service battalion of a division. At a critical moment when enemy forces, supported by three tanks, charged toward the division command post, he fearlessly led his soldiers... More details about Zhang Qinzhi ++