Yongtai County Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery

Yongtai County Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery

Yongtai County Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery is a classic red tourism destination.

Yongtai County Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery is located on Tashan Mountain to the southeast of Yongtai County’s urban area. To its right stands the Monument to the Former Site of the Fujian Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, and it faces Liankui Pagoda across the mountain.

Yongtai County was one of the areas where the Chinese Communist Party conducted underground guerrilla activities. During the arduous years of revolutionary struggle, many outstanding CPC members and guerrilla fighters in Yongtai valiantly gave their precious lives. In order to forever commemorate the martyrs’ revolutionary spirit and great achievements, and to inspire the people of the entire county to strive for the communist cause, in 1964, the CPC Yongtai County Committee and the People’s Government of Yongtai County decided to build the Yongtai County Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery.

In February 1965, the Martyrs’ Tomb of Yongtai County was completed. The tomb is 5.39 meters wide, 3.03 meters deep, and 3.15 meters high. It is a square-domed structure built from bluestone and granite, with a semi-circular back. In front of the tomb is a platform, atop which sits a finely polished stone altar. The platform is flanked by exquisitely crafted bluestone railings, 0.5 meters high. There are three steps leading up to the platform, guarded on both sides by two finely carved small stone lions. The platform is 0.455 meters high and covers an area of 14.56 square meters. The tombstone is a large, mirror-like bluestone, with a red five-pointed star carved at the top and the inscription “The Revolutionary Martyrs Shall Live Forever” engraved in the center, inscribed by the Yongtai County People’s Committee. The upper part of the epitaph reads: “Since the Second Revolutionary Civil War in 1931, the CPC members and guerrilla fighters of our county, in their arduous struggle against the enemy, fought bravely and continuously, with many comrades sacrificing their precious lives. Their great achievements will be remembered for eternity!” The lower part reads: “The indomitable and tenacious fighting spirit of the martyrs in the relentless pursuit of complete human liberation will forever educate and inspire us. The people of the entire county, under the leadership of the Party, should redouble their efforts, forge ahead courageously, and strive for the victory of the communist revolutionary cause!” There is a small door at the back of the tomb where the ashes of 11 martyrs are laid to rest.

In March 1990, the Revolutionary Martyrs’ Name Monument was erected to the left of the martyrs’ tomb. The monument base has two tiers, poured in cement, larger at the bottom and smaller at the top, standing 0.5 meters high. The lower base measures 1.19 meters on each side at the bottom and 0.535 meters in width; the upper base measures 1.085 meters on each side at the bottom and 0.455 meters in width, with the top edges measuring 0.995 meters and 0.37 meters respectively. The main body of the monument is a large bluestone, 0.765 meters wide, 0.145 meters thick, and 1.65 meters high. The front of the monument bears a red five-pointed star and the seven large characters “Revolutionary Martyrs’ Name Monument,” with the inscription: CPC Yongtai County Committee and the People’s Government of Yongtai County. The back of the monument features the inscription “Eternal Glory” at the top, below which are engraved the names of 73 revolutionary martyrs who were posthumously recognized for their brave sacrifice in the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Liberation War, the Korean War, the Counterattack in Self-Defense Against Vietnam, and for the socialist revolution and construction — all engraved by the CPC Yongtai County Committee and the People’s Government of Yongtai County.

The cemetery is enclosed by finely polished bluestone railings on all four sides, with two exquisitely carved small stone lions guarding the front courtyard. The cemetery is 14.78 meters wide and 15.61 meters deep, covering an area of 230.72 square meters. The surrounding roads and garden areas of the cemetery cover approximately 386 square meters. From June to July 2009, during the renovation of Tashan Park, the Yongtai County Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery was refurbished: the cement ground was removed and replaced with granite, the bluestone railings were taken down and replaced with marble ones, the stone ground in front of the cemetery was replaced with permeable bricks, and azaleas were planted around the site. Since the two small stone lions originally in front of the martyrs’ tomb had been stolen by criminals, two new ones were carved and placed there during the renovation.

In June 2011, the Yongtai County Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery was jointly designated as a Fuzhou Youth Revolutionary Tradition Education Base by the Communist Youth League Fuzhou Municipal Committee, the Fuzhou Municipal Committee Party History Research Office of the CPC, the Fuzhou Old Revolutionary Base Areas Development Promotion Association, and the Fuzhou Municipal Working Committee of the Young Pioneers.