Zhaojiapeng Anti-Japanese Martyrs' Cemetery

Zhaojiapeng Anti-Japanese Martyrs' Cemetery

Zhaojiapeng Anti-Japanese Martyrs' Cemetery is a classic red tourism destination and a patriotic education base.

Zhaojiapeng Anti-Japanese Martyrs' Cemetery is located on Xuejiashan in Zhaojiapeng Town, Zhaojiapeng Township, Anlu City.

In May 1939, Li Xiannian led the New Fourth Army Yu’e Guerrilla Unit, arriving southward from Zhugou, Henan to Zhaojiapeng. There, he consolidated the New Fourth Army Independent Guerrilla Unit, the Hubei Provincial Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Unit, and two armed squads developed by Yang Huannong, alternate member of the Central Hubei Provincial Committee of the Communist Party, in Yingshan, forming the first main force regiment in the Yu’e Border Region—the New Fourth Army Independent Detachment Advance Regiment. In June of the same year, Chen Shaomin, following orders from the Central Committee and the Central Plains Bureau, led over 200 troops and cadres to Zhaojiapeng to join forces with Li Xiannian. Her troops were also incorporated into the Advance Regiment, establishing an anti-Japanese democratic base in the enemy’s rear, centered around Zhaojiapeng and spanning the border areas of Anlu, Yingshan, and Xiaogan counties. This base became a strategic hub connecting the eastern and western sections of the Beijing-Hankou Railway, serving as an important strategic command and logistical support base for the New Fourth Army’s 5th Division (including its predecessors, the Yu’e Advance Detachment and Column) and the Yu’e Border Region. Many troops of the 5th Division and the border region were rested and reinforced here; the border region’s Party and government leadership held seven major meetings; there were 44 significant battles against the enemy within the base area and the border region; and numerous facilities were established or operated over the long term here, including the 5th Division and border region’s arms factory, uniform factory, printing office, the newspaper printing plants for "Advance Newspaper" and "July 7 Newspaper", field hospitals, and the 10th Division of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University. During the Anti-Japanese War, more than 700 anti-Japanese martyrs sacrificed their lives in the Zhaojiapeng area.

In March 1984, the Anlu County Party Committee and County Government built the Zhaojiapeng Anti-Japanese Martyrs' Cemetery on Xuejiashan, covering an area of over 180 mu, which was completed in October 1985. The cemetery consists of structures such as the Anti-Japanese Martyrs Monument, Cultural Relics Exhibition Room, and Memorial Pavilion. Within the cemetery stands the 16.8-meter-tall "Zhaojiapeng Anti-Japanese Martyrs Monument", with a base 10 meters wide and covering an area of over 3,000 square meters. The monument bears an inscription by former President Li Xiannian. The Cultural Relics Exhibition Room houses over 70 revolutionary relics from the war period along with related Party history materials.

In February 1999, the People's Government of Hubei Province designated Zhaojiapeng Anti-Japanese Martyrs' Cemetery as a Hubei Provincial Patriotic Education Base.