General Yang Jingyu's Former Residence Memorial Hall

General Yang Jingyu's Former Residence Memorial Hall

The General Yang Jingyu Former Residence Memorial Hall is a classic red tourism attraction and a base for patriotic education.

The General Yang Jingyu Memorial Hall includes both the memorial building and his former residence. The former residence was built in 1966 and is located in Liwan Village, Gucheng Township, Queshan County, Henan Province (now Yicheng District, Zhumadian City). The residence covers an area of 10 mu, with four main rooms and three wing rooms on each of the east and west sides, totaling a construction area of 600 square meters. The courtyard contains a scholar tree that General Yang Jingyu planted himself in 1927. The memorial building was constructed in 1994 and opened to the public on January 16, 1995. It is located 6 kilometers south of downtown Zhumadian and 2 kilometers east of National Highway 107, with the name inscribed by Comrade Jiang Zemin. The memorial covers an area of 50 mu and has a construction area of over 4,000 square meters. The main structures include the main gate, the bronze statue and relief plaza, colonnades, the exhibition hall of the general’s life and deeds, the portrait room, and the stele corridor. The exhibition hall displays over 400 photos and more than 120 cultural relics, vividly and truthfully recording the general’s brilliant and magnificent life from birth to his sacrifice for the country.

In November 1986, General Yang Jingyu's former residence was officially designated as a key cultural relic protection unit of Henan Province by the Henan Provincial People's Government. In September 1987, it was listed among the first batch of key martyrs’ memorial buildings under protection by the Henan Provincial Department of Civil Affairs and the Department of Finance.

In 1997, the General Yang Jingyu Memorial Hall was named a “Henan Provincial Patriotic Education Base” by the Publicity Department of the Henan Provincial Committee and the Henan Communist Youth League Provincial Committee. In October 2004, it was awarded the title of “Advanced Model Unit of Henan Provincial Patriotic Education Base” by the Publicity Department of the Henan Provincial Committee, the Henan Provincial Department of Personnel, the Henan Provincial Department of Culture, and the Henan Provincial Department of Civil Affairs. In November 2005, it was named a “National Patriotic Education Base Demonstration Site” by the Central Propaganda Department. In October 2006, it was named a “National Youth Patriotic Education Demonstration Base” by the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League. In November 2009, it was named a “National Defense Education Demonstration Base” by the National Defense Education Office. Party and state leaders such as [name omitted], Zhu Rongji, Li Keqiang, Ma Man-kei, and Peng Peiyun have visited, inspected, and inscribed at this site.

Since opening to the public free of charge in 2009, the memorial hall has received an average annual visitor count of over 300,000 and hosted hundreds of visiting groups, effectively fulfilling the educational role of a patriotic education base and making a significant contribution to promoting the positive image of Zhumadian.

To thoroughly implement General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important directive to “make good use of red resources, carry forward the red tradition, and pass on the red gene,” and to remember history and honor the martyrs, Zhumadian City places high importance on the protection and development of historical and cultural heritage. As the hometown of General Yang Jingyu, the city has made efforts to promote the spirit of Jingyu and advocate the core socialist values of the new era. In April 2016, Zhumadian launched the renovation and expansion project of the General Yang Jingyu Memorial Hall. The project is situated southeast of the intersection of Jingyu Avenue and Baiqiao Road in Yicheng District, Zhumadian City. The total area is 100,147 square meters (150 mu), and the construction includes the General Yang Jingyu Memorial Hall, a visitor center, and park green spaces. The memorial hall itself covers approximately 70 mu, with a construction area of 19,500 square meters and an exhibition area of 7,000 square meters. Built in accordance with national first-class museum standards, it is expected to accommodate 5 million visitors annually. The park green space covers about 80 mu and includes water features, micro-terrain landscapes, and leisure squares, providing recreational areas for citizens and tourists.

The total investment in the General Yang Jingyu Memorial Hall project is 430 million yuan, and it has been included in the PPP projects of the central urban area. Construction began in November 2017, with completion expected in December 2019. Once completed, it will significantly enrich the exhibition content, expand educational methods, and enhance the functionality of the education base, better serving the public, supporting governance through education, and becoming an important urban landmark and spiritual high ground for Zhumadian City.

Yang Jingyu (1905–1940), originally named Ma Shangde, also known as Zhang Guanyi, with the courtesy name Runsheng and the style name Jisheng, was born in February 1905 (the 31st year of the Guangxu reign in the Qing Dynasty) into a farming family in Liwan Village, Queshan County, Henan Province. In 1923 (the 12th year of the Republic of China), he was admitted to the Kaifeng Industrial School in Henan Province. In 1927 (the 16th year of the Republic of China), he joined the Communist Party of China. He once served as the secretary of the Henan Southern Special Committee of the CPC and led the Queshan Farmers' Movement and the Liujiamiao Uprising.

In 1929 (the 18th year of the Republic of China), Yang Jingyu was sent by the Party to the Northeast to carry out labor movement activities. After the “September 18th Incident”... More detailed information on Yang Jingyu ++

Further reading:

· Second Batch of Key Cultural Relics Protection Units in Henan Province