Lin Yi Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery

Lin Yi Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery

Lin Yi Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery is a national AA-level tourist attraction, a cultural relic protection unit of Shandong Province, a classic red tourism destination, a patriotic education base, and a national defense education base.

Lin Yi County is part of the revolutionary old base area in northwest Shandong. During the War of Resistance against Japan, it served as the center for resistance led by the Seventh Special Administrative Region of Southern Hebei and the Second Regional Committee of Jilu Border Area, as well as the rear base of the Second Military Sub-district of Bohai. It boasts a long history and splendid cultural heritage, along with a glorious revolutionary tradition. Over the decades of revolutionary struggle, battles such as those at Wanglou, Yuxinzhuang, Sujiamiao, and Panhe took place, leaving behind the footprints of battle from proletarian revolutionaries of the older generation such as Xiao Hua, He Haoju, Long Shujin, and Zeng Xuqing. More than 2,000 outstanding Communist Party members, patriots, and passionate youths sacrificed their lives on this red land, giving rise to many moving and heroic deeds. To honor the revolutionary martyrs, inspire and educate future generations, and protect and pass on this valuable red historical and cultural heritage, in March 2012, the Lin Yi County Party Committee and County Government launched the "Comfort the Martyrs" project. With an investment of over 16 million yuan, they consolidated and relocated three martyrs' cemeteries — the original Linziguan Dao Martyrs' Cemetery, the Linan Wanglou Martyrs' Cemetery, and the Linpan Jiansi Martyrs' Cemetery. Relying on the original Linziguan Dao Martyrs' Cemetery, they newly built the Lin Yi Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery and Revolutionary Memorial Hall, and centralized all scattered martyrs' commemorative facilities across the county into the cemetery for unified protection and management.

The Lin Yi Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery covers an area of 51 mu and preserves 15 revolutionary martyrs' memorial towers (monuments) built during the War of Resistance against Japan and the Liberation War. Among them, the earliest is the Revolutionary Martyrs' Memorial Tower built in 1944 by the Second Military Sub-district of Bohai, the Kuangwu County Party Committee, and the County Anti-Japanese Democratic Government to commemorate those who sacrificed their lives in the War of Resistance. It is the final resting place of notable anti-Japanese heroes such as Li Hengquan, former Deputy Political Commissar of the Second Military Sub-district of Bohai; Xu Shangwu, Deputy Commander of the Second Military Sub-district and County Head of the Anti-Japanese Democratic Government of Lin Yi; and Wu Kuangwu, County Head of the Anti-Japanese Democratic Government of Lingxian (announced by the Ministry of Civil Affairs in 2015), as well as 2,449 revolutionary martyrs from the period of the War of Resistance against Japan to the present, including Yang Hong’en, Secretary-General of the Second Special Administrative Region of Jilu Border Area, and Li Hengchang, Deputy Commander of the Kuangwu Anti-Japanese County Brigade. The nearly 2,000-square-meter Revolutionary Memorial Hall displays, through a large number of precious historical photos, relics, historical materials, artworks such as oil paintings and sculptures, as well as scene reconstructions and modern multimedia audio-visual techniques, the history of Lin Yi’s revolutionary struggles and the achievements of socialist construction from multiple angles and in a comprehensive manner. The cemetery also features a memorial square, a group sculpture of martyrs, a Wall of Martyrs’ Names, statues of notable martyrs, a weapons exhibition area, and landscaped cultural greenery, making it a revolutionary tradition education base and red tourism site that combines commemoration, education, and sightseeing.

Since its completion and opening in April 2013, the Lin Yi Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery has consistently prioritized national defense education, revolutionary tradition education, and patriotic education as its core functions. Leveraging its red resource advantages, it organizes various forms of commemorative educational activities every year on memorial occasions such as Tomb-Sweeping Day, Army Day, Martyrs' Memorial Day, and National Defense Education Day. These include activities for government officials, young students, members of the public, and Party members and masses — such as revisiting revolutionary history, honoring the martyrs, renewing Party (League) membership oaths, and laying wreaths — to promote patriotism and popularize national defense education. These efforts have achieved positive social outcomes. Currently, the red education function of the Lin Yi Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery extends to surrounding counties and cities, making it an important site in northwest Shandong for national defense and patriotic education among cadres, masses, and youths. It receives over 20,000 visitors annually, including cadres, masses, and students. It has been successively designated as the “Dezhou City National Defense Education Base,” “Dezhou City Patriotic Education Base,” “Provincial-Level Martyrs’ Memorial Facilities Protection Unit,” “Provincial-Level Cultural Relic Protection Unit,” “Provincial-Level Party History Education Base,” “Provincial-Level Patriotic Education Base,” and “National AA-Level Red Tourism Attraction.”

Linzi Town: Located on the plains of northwest Shandong, Linzi Town in Lin Yi County lies 9 kilometers north of the county seat. It is intersected by Linnan Road (Lin Yi County–Nanpi, Hebei, i.e., Provincial Highway 249), Linjian Road, and Sutian Road, connecting to National Highway 104. It neighbors Liyu Road, a railway line, and the Jining–Dezhou section of the Beijing–Fuzhou Expressway, integrating with the transportation networks of the entire province and country. To the south is Jinan Yaoqiao Airport, 55 kilometers away; to the north is Beijing, 350 kilometers away; and to the northwest is Dezhou City, 50 kilometers away. The town covers a total area of 80.5 square kilometers, governs 48 administrative villages, and has a population of 24,000. In 2002, the total industrial and agricultural output value of the town was... More details about Linzi Town++

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Shandong Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units