Martyrs' Shrine for Those Who Died in Resistance Against Japan in Changyi County

Martyrs' Shrine for Those Who Died in Resistance Against Japan in Changyi County

The Martyrs' Shrine for Those Who Died in Resistance Against Japan in Changyi County is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit and a patriotic education base.

The "Martyrs' Shrine for Those Who Died in Resistance Against Japan in Changyi County" is located in Beibaita Village, Longchi Town, Changyi City. It was built to commemorate the martyrs of the Independent Battalion of Changyi and the 7th Detachment of the Eighth Route Army’s Ludong Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Forces who sacrificed their lives defending the “Bohai Corridor” during the War of Resistance Against Japan. The foundation was laid in February 1945, and construction was completed in July of the same year. Covering an area of 15.8 mu, it faces south and features a main hall with five bays, along with five bays each for the east and west wing rooms. In the courtyard stands a "Martyrs' Memorial Monument of Changyi County for Those Who Died in Resistance Against Japan," erected in April 1946. The front of the monument is inscribed with "Mighty Spirit Reaching the Heavens," while the back lists the names of 391 martyrs. The main hall contains three large wooden carved spirit niches, enshrining a total of 527 memorial tablets of martyrs (later including 136 more from the Liberation War and the Korean War). The entire shrine adopts a traditional style with rigorous layout and exquisite architecture, representing a fine example of temple construction from the Republican era. It is also one of the few existing specialized shrines in China built shortly before the end of the War of Resistance Against Japan to honor CPC-affiliated anti-Japanese martyrs.

Inside the monument pavilion in the courtyard stands a "Martyrs' Memorial Monument of Changyi County for Those Who Died in Resistance Against Japan," jointly erected in April 1946 by the CCP Changbei County Committee, the County Government, the Construction Association, and the Independent Battalion. The front side bears the inscription "Mighty Spirit Reaching the Heavens," written by Ma Jun, while the reverse lists the names of 319 anti-Japanese martyrs from the CPC and the army who died in the War of Resistance in Shouguang, Changyi, and Weixian counties. The entire shrine features traditional Chinese architectural style with a rigorous layout and exquisite craftsmanship. Its brick carvings are considered exceptional, making it a representative example of temple construction during the Republican era and one of the few pre-Liberation anti-Japanese martyr shrines still extant in the province. In 2013, the shrine was designated as a patriotic education base in Weifang City by the Weifang Municipal Party Committee Propaganda Department, and in 2015, it was recognized as a provincial-level patriotic education base by the Provincial Party Committee Propaganda Department.

Beibaita Village: Beibaita Village…… More information about Beibaita Village++

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Shandong Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Eighth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units