The Martyrs' Cemetery of the Dahu Anti-Japanese Battle

The Martyrs' Cemetery of the Dahu Anti-Japanese Battle

The Martyrs' Cemetery of the Dahu Anti-Japanese Battle is a cultural relic protection unit of Fujian Province.

The Martyrs' Cemetery of the Dahu Anti-Japanese Battle

The tomb is a tower-style structure covering an area of 300 square meters, with each side measuring six meters and a height of seven meters. The arch is constructed from white granite. Above the tomb stands a two-tiered bluestone memorial tower, approximately ten meters high, also made of bluestone in a square shape. The inscriptions on the tower document the details of the battle and the names of the fallen soldiers. Embedded in the tower are inscriptions such as “Martyrs' Cemetery of the Dahu Anti-Japanese Battle” and the memorial inscription by Chen Yi, Commander-in-Chief of the 25th Army Group; Chiang Kai-shek’s inscription “Spirit Like Mountains and Rivers”; Gu Zhutong, Commander of the Third War Zone’s inscription “Glory Illuminates Fujian Seas”; and Chen Kongda, Commander of the 70th Army’s inscription “Loyalty Shines Through the Sun.”

In April of the 30th year of the Republic of China (1941), elements of the Japanese Imperial Guard Division, the 18th Division, and the 48th Division, supported by the Japanese Navy’s Second China Expeditionary Fleet, launched an attack on Fuzhou. On the 21st, Fuzhou fell. On May 21, a reinforced regiment of the 48th Division stationed in Fuzhou—the “Shincho Unit” (recruited from the hometown of Japan’s “Emperor”)—attacked westward toward Gutian and Nanping. Li Liangrong, head of the 13th Training Regiment of the Nationalist Army, led the 75th Division Equipment Regiment (comprised of newly recruited soldiers, meaning only officers had limited weapons while soldiers were mostly unarmed) to resist. In the Dahu region, despite being outnumbered and outgunned, they defeated the Japanese forces, killing over 300 enemies (including seven officers of the rank of Major or higher) and capturing more than 1,300 pieces of war spoils. After this battle, the Japanese forces began a full retreat and no longer attempted to penetrate deeper into the interior of Fujian, thus reversing the course of the anti-Japanese war in Fujian and even the entire southeastern front.

In the 32nd year of the Republic of China (1943), Dahu Zaishang Pass was officially renamed Zhixiong Pass in honor of Guo Zhixiong, deputy commander of the Equipment Regiment who sacrificed his life in the Dahu Battle.

In the 34th year of the Republic of China (1945), the Fujian Provincial Government allocated funds to build the Dahu Martyrs' Memorial Tower on Fushan Island Hill southwest of Dahu Village, Dahu Township, Minhou County. The tower was constructed to bury the remains of over 200 martyrs who died in the Dahu Battle in May 1941.

In 1971, the memorial tower was demolished, and the stones and steles were scattered.

In 1989, the Minhou County People's Government designated it as a county-level cultural relic protection unit.

In early 1999, the Publicity Department of the Minhou County Committee, together with the County Party Committee Organs, the County Education Bureau, and other organizations, issued an initiative to raise funds for the restoration of the Dahu Martyrs' Memorial Tower. Within just a few days, donations exceeding 100,000 yuan were collected. Volunteers spontaneously organized to recover most of the scattered steles and stones, and the main tower was restored on the original site, in its original form.

In January 2001, the People's Government of Fujian Province designated it as part of the fifth batch of provincial-level cultural relic protection units.

Dahu Township: a township under the jurisdiction of Minhou County. Established as Dahu Commune in 1958 and reorganized as a township in 1984. Located in the northern part of the county, 23.5 kilometers from the county seat. It covers an area of 327 square kilometers with a population of 31,000. The Fuzhou-Gutian Highway runs across the township. It administers 23 village committees: Dahu, Niankeng, Dachi, Lingtou, Liujin, Xuefeng, Dongyao, Lantian, Qiangping, Shangyuan, Chaping, Houyang, Shuangxi, Xintang, Bantou, Dongqian, Maqian, Ruoyang, Daping, Yangshan, Xianshan, Zhenshan, and Houjing. The main agricultural products are rice and tea. Provincial cultural relic protection units include structures built in the 11th year of the Tang Dynasty’s Xiantong era (8... More detailed information about Dahu Township++