An Yuan Anti-Japanese Soldiers' Cemetery Cluster

An Yuan Anti-Japanese Soldiers' Cemetery Cluster

The An Yuan Anti-Japanese Soldiers' Cemetery Cluster is a Jiangxi Provincial Cultural Heritage Protection Unit.

Dengdanzhao in Zhangjiawan Village, An Yuan Town, a provincial-level new rural development site, is a project featuring significant modern historical sites and representative architecture. In 2017, Zhangjiawan Village was designated as a provincial-level new rural development site. During the construction process, An Yuan Town renovated the area with the theme of commemorating anti-Japanese soldiers, and it was later rated as part of the sixth batch of Jiangxi Provincial Cultural Heritage Protection Units.

According to historical records, after the full outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan in 1937, a large number of wounded and sick soldiers retreated westward along the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Railway. At that time, An Yuan District had the earliest and largest Western-style hospital among all coal mines in China, and many wounded soldiers were sent there for treatment. Some soldiers succumbed to their injuries and were laid to rest here. Local elders have said that there were once hundreds of tombstones here, including those of soldiers even at the general level. It is extremely rare for so many tombs of anti-Japanese heroes to be found in one place in Jiangxi Province. In the 1970s, these tombstones were damaged, buried, and forgotten due to road construction.

The year 2017 marked the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Shanghai. To honor the fallen, stay true to our original aspiration, and ensure that this history is remembered and peace cherished, the An Yuan Town Party Committee and government made a resolute decision. They allocated over two million yuan in government funding to build an Anti-Japanese Soldiers' Memorial Monument here. The remains of many unnamed heroes were collectively interred in the burial platform beneath the monument, finally bringing solace to the spirits and ensuring that history remembers their loyalty. This serves as the best tribute to the fallen heroes. Leveraging the opportunity of building a new rural development site, An Yuan Town turned this cemetery into a patriotic education base. The cemetery has been listed as part of the sixth batch of Jiangxi Provincial Cultural Heritage Protection Units.

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of Jiangxi Provincial Cultural Heritage Protection Units