Fang Zhimin Memorial Hall

Fang Zhimin Memorial Hall

Fang Zhimin Memorial Hall is a classic red tourism destination and a patriotic education base.

Fang Zhimin Memorial Hall is located at the summit of Emei Zui Hill in the northern part of Yiyang County, Jiangxi Province. It is a national patriotic education base and a key provincial-level protected architectural site for martyr memorials in Jiangxi. Approved for construction by the Jiangxi Provincial People's Government in September 1977, it was completed in September 1978, covering an area of 11,000 square meters, with a building area of 1,300 square meters. It was closed for renovation in October 2003 and reopened in January 2004. The interior exhibits are well arranged and rich in content, featuring four display rooms and one exhibition hall that introduce Fang Zhimin’s revolutionary activities, including his role in establishing local party and league organizations in Jiangxi, leading the agrarian movement, founding the Min-Zhe-Jiang Revolutionary Base and the 10th Red Army, and his struggle in prison. Behind the memorial hall lies a martyrs' cemetery surrounded by lush trees and clear waters. In front of the hall stands a solemn marble statue of Fang Zhimin. The pedestal bears a poem by Ye Jianying in memory of Fang: “Half of the southeast blazed red in battle fierce, / A miracle turned to glory none could pierce. / Since Wen Shan passed, the southern moon still glows, / Now lighting a maple leaf on Qinhuai’s flows.”

Fang Zhimin Martyrs Memorial Hall, also known as “Yiyang Revolutionary Martyrs Memorial Hall,” is a key provincial-level protected architectural site for martyr memorials and serves as a patriotic education base at the provincial, regional, and county levels. It is an important site where people pay tribute to the martyrs.

Inside the memorial hall courtyard stands a full-body statue of Fang Zhimin, seven meters tall, flanked by neatly lined ligustrum trees. The base of the statue bears the five Chinese characters “Martyr Fang Zhimin,” personally inscribed by Mao Zedong. The back of the statue base features a handwritten poem by Marshal Ye Jianying: “Half of the southeast blazed red in battle fierce, / A miracle turned to glory none could pierce; / Since Wen Shan passed, the southern moon still glows, / Now lighting a maple leaf on Qinhuai’s flows.”

The hall contains four rooms and one exhibition hall. The main hall includes a memorial shrine, at the center of which stands a monument engraved with Mao Zedong’s calligraphy reading “Eternal Glory to the People’s Heroes.” The shrine also houses a list of the names of 9,288 martyrs from Yiyang. The left and right exhibition rooms feature four plaster sculptures depicting brave and indomitable Red Army soldiers and Red Guards. The first exhibition room introduces Fang Zhimin’s moving deeds in his youth as a founder of local party and league organizations in Jiangxi and an outstanding leader of the agrarian movement, leading the revolution with just two-and-a-half guns. The second room showcases the establishment of the revolutionary base and the 10th Red Army, along with their battles. The third room features a 3-meter-high plaster sculpture of “Fang Zhimin Writing,” primarily displaying his struggles in prison and the timeless works he penned with extraordinary perseverance, such as “Lovely China” and “The Simple Life,” as well as the life stories of his comrades such as Huang Dao, Tang Zaigang, Yu Hanchao, and Zou Qi. The fourth room introduces the life stories of veteran Red Army leaders who passed away after the founding of the People’s Republic, including Shao Shiping, Wang Jinxiang, Wu Kehua, and Xie Rui.

Fang Zhimin Memorial Hall is situated in the northern part of the county, covering an area of 60,000 square meters. The hall displays the life stories of Martyr Fang Zhimin and other notable heroes, along with portraits and revolutionary relics of some of the principal leaders.

The revolutionary base he established was referred to by Mao Zedong as the “Fang Zhimin-style base.” Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin also spoke highly of Fang Zhimin. His short but great life made tremendous contributions to the liberation of the Chinese people and the communist cause. While in prison, he wrote eight brilliant works totaling nearly 200,000 words, including “The Simple Life,” “Lovely China,” and “Prison Notes,” with extraordinary perseverance. These have become an extremely precious spiritual legacy for the Chinese people.

Address: North Guangchang Road, Yiyang County, Shangrao City, Jiangxi Province

Type: Museum

Recommended visiting time: About 1 hour

Further reading:

· National Third-Class Museum of China