Jinan Campaign Memorial Hall

Jinan Campaign Memorial Hall

The Jinan Campaign Memorial Hall is a classic red tourism destination and a patriotic education base.

The Jinan Campaign Memorial Hall held its groundbreaking ceremony on September 24, 2002, and was largely completed in October 2002. With a construction area of 6,819.86 square meters, it consists of an exhibition hall and a panoramic painting gallery. The exhibition hall contains a wealth of cultural relics and historical materials, with content designed to depict the events of the Jinan Campaign, playing an important role in patriotic education. The panoramic painting gallery features a massive three-dimensional image integrated with a ground modeling that restores the battlefield area, presenting a vivid scene of the intense fighting during the Jinan Campaign assault.

Back then, the Jinan Campaign shook the nation with its great victory as a large-scale assault and annihilation battle, marking the prelude to the strategic decisive battles of the People's Liberation War and writing a glorious chapter in the history of our army. For people today, war has become distant and unfamiliar. How can we help people understand that history, remember it, know what to inherit and cherish, and thus be inspired to shape the future? The Jinan Campaign Memorial Hall achieves the goal of presenting the true history of the Jinan Campaign through its authentic and rich exhibits. Following the principles of historical materialism, they collected military histories of the original combat units—army, division, and regiment—memoirs written by commanders and eyewitnesses from the former East China Field Army, corps, and battle groups, and studied relevant documents from the Academy of Military Science. Through documentary displays, they introduced the development of the People's Liberation War and the decision-making process of the Central Military Commission regarding the Jinan Campaign, explaining the campaign model and deployment of “attacking Jinan while blocking reinforcements.” The battle process of the Jinan Campaign is introduced in detail by phase, following the timeline of the campaign’s progression, with the strategy of surrounding the city on all sides and attacking from east and west as the main thread. Over 300 precious wartime photos and numerous charts document the routes of the main forces and the key battle scenes at various stages. As conditions ensuring the campaign’s victory, the exhibition also shows the deployment and results of the forces blocking and striking reinforcements, the historical fact of 500,000 civilian workers from the liberated areas of Shandong supporting the Jinan Campaign, the extensive preparations made by the underground party organization in Jinan for the liberation of the city, and the significant contributions of our Party and army’s liaison officers in enemy reconnaissance and undermining enemy morale. These detailed historical materials and thoughtfully curated exhibits not only present the true course of the Jinan Campaign but also reveal the creativity in the campaign planning and execution. They demonstrate how our army’s command art played a major role in achieving rapid victory despite lacking experience in capturing such large cities at the time, thereby praising the wisdom of Mao Zedong’s military principles and strategic guidance, and celebrating the victory of the people’s war under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. History frozen in time will never change. The establishment and opening of the Jinan Campaign Memorial Hall ensures that this immortal history will be forever engraved in people’s hearts.

Timeless Commemoration

During the assault on Jinan, our officers and soldiers carried forward the traditional virtues of brave combat, fearlessness of sacrifice, tirelessness, and continuous fighting. With a heroic spirit of advancing fearlessly and overwhelming the enemy, they overcame numerous obstacles, shattered enemy resistance, and accomplished the campaign objectives ahead of schedule. This was an even more critical subjective factor in securing a swift victory. The exhibition hall showcases the glorious deeds of the “Jinan First Regiment” and “Jinan Second Regiment,” which were honored by the Central Military Commission for annihilating the defending enemies and especially for their exceptional contributions in the fierce battle to take the inner city. It also displays the heroic stories of many combat units—such as companies, platoons, and squads—that were awarded honorary titles by the East China Field Army headquarters, corps, and divisions. Additionally, it highlights the battle exploits of many “Jinan heroes” such as “East China First-Class Combat Hero” Liu Kun, Huang Xianghe, and Li Yongjiang, the first to scale the city wall, as well as lesser-known struggles of “reconnaissance heroes,” “demolition heroes,” “civilian support role models,” and unsung heroes working on the covert front. The museum has collected over 300 precious war-era artifacts preserved to this day, including rosters of fallen soldiers recorded by combat units, campaign progress and battle reports printed at the time, commendation certificates, merit documents, military medals, blood-stained party dues, letters of determination, wartime diaries, family letters, as well as items used by officers and soldiers such as map bags, bugles, binoculars, and weapons. These bear witness to their arduous fight. They are typical representatives of the many heroes, role models, and over 5,000 fallen soldiers. Their fearless advance, indomitable spirit, intelligence, tenacity, and willingness to sacrifice offer profound inspiration. They remind us that revolutionary wars transformed society, creating a magnificent renewal, allowing us later generations to live in peace and prosperity. Yet every victory back then came at an enormous cost. Every inch of the land we live on was once stained with the blood of martyrs. Today, they rest at the foot of Heroes Mountain, having passed on with eternal hope. But frozen history has not forgotten them, and the people will never forget them. The Jinan Campaign Memorial Hall has become an important site for the public to honor revolutionary predecessors. Here, people listen to the steady footsteps of history, feel the inspiration of revolutionary martyrs, weigh the heavy responsibilities on their shoulders, and strive to be worthy of history.

Artistic Restoration Charm

The exhibition hall combines documentary materials with audiovisual methods in its layout, placing special emphasis on the visual experience of visitors. It employs a variety of artistic techniques to create vividness and readability, meeting the need to simulate reality with emotional impact, enhancing both intuitive effect and aesthetic appeal, resulting in the silent language of the exhibition space. As you enter the introductory hall, a large sculpture stands tall, immediately presenting the heroic collective image of officers and soldiers courageously assaulting the enemy. The granite decoration on the walls of the introductory hall, symbolizing towering city walls, evokes the peril and unyielding determination of urban assault. The lighting design here accentuates the majestic figures, while the accompanying music lets visitors hear the rumble of cannons, awakening memories of the past and revealing the theme of the exhibition. Visitors continue into the exhibition hall with reverence and a desire to explore history. In the civilian support section, a realistic scene of rural liberated areas supporting the urban battle is formed by early autumn trees, a few thatched cottages, a stone mill and millstone in a farmhouse yard, along with carts, wheelbarrows, pancake griddles, and water ladles. In the heroes and role models section, an eternal sacred flame and a group of martyr steles are presented. Both the conceptual design and color scheme align closely with the theme, complementing the displayed banners and relics, conveying deep emotion and profound meaning. The overall layout of the exhibition hall adopts the most advanced international design concepts in spatial form, using an open-plan approach that seamlessly integrates artistic forms with exhibit lines, lighting, sound, and ceiling design. This creates a varied yet naturally connected and unified exhibition space. In terms of artistic expression, a minimalist design style is primarily used, pursuing simplicity and order in modern architecture and interior space. The layout of panels is dignified and elegant, using color variation to achieve harmony, allowing visitors to not only learn about the facts of the Jinan Campaign but also fully appreciate the beauty of contemporary environmental art design.

Address: No. 18 Yingxiongshan Road, Jinan City

Visiting Requirements

1. Visitors may collect free tickets with valid identification. Entry to the panoramic painting gallery is by numbered group.

2. Visitors must voluntarily comply with the internal management regulations of the memorial hall.

3. Persons with disabilities, minors, or elderly individuals with mobility issues must be accompanied by a guardian to enter.