Dongming County Mao Zedong Memorial Hall

Dongming County Mao Zedong Memorial Hall

The Dongming County Mao Zedong Memorial Hall is a classic red tourism destination.

The Dongming County Chairman Mao Memorial Hall is located in Zhukou Village, about 5 kilometers northeast of the county town. It lies to the north of the mighty, east-flowing Yellow River and to the south of the Rizhao–Dongying Expressway, which traverses the land of Qilu. It serves as another splendid cultural landmark in Dongming County, the hometown of Zhuangzi.

I. Background of Construction

The Dongming County Chairman Mao Memorial Hall was personally funded and constructed by She Shicheng, a villager from Zhukou Village in Chengguan Town, starting in 2003 and officially completed in August 2008. Why did She Shicheng devote everything he had to building the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall? This is because She Shicheng, born in September 1944 in Shegang Village, Wusheng Township, came from a family that, for three generations under the old society, lived by begging and working as tenant farmers (as long-term laborers) for a wealthy household in Zhukou Village, a neighboring village. They endured great hardship before moving to Zhukou Village. It was Chairman Mao who led the people to liberation, and as a result, She Shicheng gained his own land and began living a better life. Having experienced life in both societies, She Shicheng deeply felt that without Chairman Mao, he would not have the life he enjoys today. Therefore, from his youth, he kept the Party and Chairman Mao in his heart at all times.

In his early years, She Shicheng learned carpentry and worked in construction, becoming a well-known local building expert. Especially after the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, he gradually became prosperous, just like many other villagers. The development of society and the tremendous changes in people’s lives made him realize even more deeply that without Chairman Mao overthrowing the Three Mountains and laying the foundation, there would be no happy and peaceful life today. Never forget the well-digger when drinking water. Gratitude is a unique traditional virtue of the Chinese people, and it is also a prominent trait of She Shicheng, this honest and hardworking farmer. As a result, how to honor Chairman Mao and how to pass on the reverence for him from generation to generation became a question he often pondered. After decades of deliberation, he decided to express his admiration for the great man in a traditional way. To praise Chairman Mao’s achievements and commemorate the great man’s benevolence, on February 16, 2004, he raised funds, demolished his home to free up space, designed the structure himself, and built a Mao Pavilion on his own homestead for villagers to pay their respects. Soon after, he, together with fellow villager Zhu Faqi and others, began preparations to establish the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall. A preparatory group was formed, with him as the leader and ten villagers participating. She Shicheng contributed all his personal assets, first offering up his contracted one-mu-seven-tenth-acre (approximately 0.11 hectares) responsibility field. He then negotiated overnight with fellow villagers to exchange another one-mu-seven-tenth-acre field of his for a one-mu-eight-tenth-acre (approximately 0.12 hectares) low-lying plot owned by someone else, borrowing money to compensate the other party with 8,000 yuan in cash. In total, he secured three mu five-tenth acres (approximately 0.23 hectares) of land for the memorial hall site. He personally designed the structure, and on August 1, 2007, the foundation was laid. Construction took a year to complete. The main building of the memorial hall covers a floor area of 220 square meters and stands 83.41 meters tall (symbolizing Chairman Mao’s 83 years of life and 41 years in leadership), with the main hall reaching 49 meters high (symbolizing the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949). The front eaves of the memorial hall are 71 centimeters high (symbolizing the founding of the Communist Party of China on July 1, 1921). The structure also includes the second and third floors and corridors on both sides. The total cost of the project was over 710,000 yuan. Of this, She Shicheng contributed more than 460,000 yuan, while nearby residents raised around 250,000 yuan. Because of the construction of the memorial hall, his original house was completely demolished, and She Shicheng and his wife still live in a temporary shed built in the southwest corner of the memorial hall. Since all of the family’s responsibility fields were converted into the memorial hall site, they have no income and rely entirely on support from their one daughter and two sons.

After its completion, the memorial hall became the only privately funded memorial hall tourist attraction in China. On December 17, 2008, at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, Mao Xinyu and Liu Bin (the eldest grandson and his wife of Chairman Mao), Mao Ningke (the eldest grandson of Mao Minmin), and Mao Xiaoqing (the granddaughter of Mao Zilian) met with Comrade She Shicheng and had a cordial conversation. Eighteen Chinese news media reporters conducted on-site interviews.

II. Current Layout

Upon entering the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, the first thing you see is the memorial pavilion, formerly known as the “Mao Pavilion,” which houses a more than one-meter-tall, golden, full-body bronze statue of Chairman Mao. The statue is lifelike and resplendent. In front of the pavilion, the Five-Star Red Flag flutters in the wind, surrounded by evergreen pine trees and holly.

Entering the exhibition hall, the most eye-catching feature is the 2.83-meter-tall golden full-body bronze statue of Mao Zedong, created by the renowned Chinese master sculptor Liu Kaiqu and cast by Hunan Shaoshan Xuri Hall Bronze Statue Casting Co., Ltd. It stands prominently in the center of the first-floor hall, with the majestic Great Wall depicted in the background. On the second floor, in the center of the hall, you will find a half-body golden bronze statue of Chairman Mao placed in front of a large printed image of a welcoming pine. The entire exhibition hall is divided into nine sections: Leaving Hometown, Founding a New Era, Agrarian Revolution, War of Resistance Against Japan, Liberation War, Dream of a Strong Nation, Looking at the World, Poetic Sentiment, and Later Years. On the two long corridors on either side of the memorial hall are excerpts from General Secretary Xi Jinping’s speech at the symposium commemorating the 110th anniversary of Chairman Mao’s birth, the preface of the memorial hall, and calligraphy works of Chairman Mao’s poems by famous calligraphers. The layout is reasonable and the atmosphere is magnificent.

III. Regular Activities

Since its completion, the memorial hall has attracted visitors from all directions every day. Especially on December 26, the birthday of Chairman Mao, the memorial hall holds grand commemorative events, which have been held four times in a row. These events are organized by the Management Committee of the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall and feature performances by large theater troupes for 3–4 days. On the day the event begins, there are also performances by local yangge dance teams, flower-drum teams, tai chi teams, and martial arts teams, creating an extremely lively atmosphere.

Each time an event is held, the surrounding residents come as if celebrating the New Year, arriving early in the morning to pay their respects to Chairman Mao and remember his great achievements, with crowds as vast as the sea. Villagers from the local area flock to the site, coming in an endless stream.

Mao Zedong (December 26, 1893 – September 9, 1976), courtesy name Runzhi (originally Yongzhi, later changed to Runzhi), pen name Ziren. He was from Xiangtan, Hunan. He was the leader of the Chinese people, a Marxist, a great proletarian revolutionary, strategist, and theorist, the principal founder and leader of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese People's Liberation Army, and the People's Republic of China, as well as a poet and calligrapher. From 1949 to 1976, Mao Zedong served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China. His contributions to the development of Marxism-Leninism, military theory, and... Mao Zedong detailed information++