Panjiadai Village Massacre Memorial Hall

Panjiadai Village Massacre Memorial Hall

The Panjiadai Village Massacre Memorial Hall is a cultural relic protection unit and patriotic education base in Hebei Province.

The Panjiadai Village Massacre Memorial Hall is located in Panjiadai Village, Luannan County, Hebei Province, covering an area of 7,300 square meters with a building area of 2,256 square meters. Approved by the Hebei Provincial Patriotic Education Base Construction Leading Group, it was jointly funded by provincial, municipal, and county governments with an investment of 5.57 million yuan. The foundation stone was laid in November 1997, construction began in March 1998, completed in April 2000, and officially opened to the public in December 2000. To date, it has received over a million visitors.

The massacre site has long served as an important patriotic education venue for local residents to mourn the victims and reflect on national humiliation. In 1993, the Panjiadai Village Massacre Memorial Hall was designated as a “Provincial Key Cultural Relic Protection Unit” by the People’s Government of Hebei Province; in 1995, it was named a “Provincial Patriotic Education Base” by the Hebei Provincial Party Committee and Government; in 2005, it was listed as one of the third batch of “National Patriotic Education Demonstration Bases” by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee.

The overall layout of the memorial hall extends from south to north, consisting of a commemorative stele, mourning square, memorial horizontal tablet, wall of souls, sunken square, and the main exhibition hall, forming a well-defined spatial sequence. On both sides are audiovisual rooms and reception areas, with the mass burial pit and mass grave complementing each other. It is a landmark structure integrating the nature of a massacre site, historical relics, and commemoration.

Geographic Location

The Panjiadai Village Massacre Memorial Hall is situated in the eastern part of Panjiadai Village, Luannan County, Hebei Province.

Natural Climate

Luannan County has a warm temperate, semi-humid, monsoon continental climate, characterized by dry winters, humid summers, concentrated precipitation, a relatively long frost-free period, distinct seasons, and significant monsoons. Spring warms up quickly but experiences rapidly changing weather, with more wind and less rain, dry conditions, and frequent spring droughts. Summer is hot and humid, with low wind speeds, concentrated rainfall, stuffy weather, and frequent disasters such as thunderstorms, heavy rain, hail, strong winds, and high temperatures. Autumn cools down rapidly, with low wind speeds and mostly clear, fine weather, commonly referred to as “crisp autumn.” Winter is relatively cold, dry, and sees little precipitation, dominated by northwest winds.

Transportation Routes

Take the Beijing–Tangshan Expressway, then transfer to the Tanggang Expressway and exit at Luannan to reach Panjiadai Village.

Admission Fee

Free

Opening Hours

9:00–16:00 on national statutory workdays

Historical Background

On December 5, 1942, under the command of Captain Suzuki Shin and following the order of Major General Suzuki Kikuju, commander of the 1st Regiment Cavalry of the 27th Infantry Brigade of the Japanese 27th Division, to “completely pacify the village,” the Japanese invaders carried out a brutal massacre in Panjiadai Village. Using extremely cruel methods such as shooting, beating, shovel strikes, axe smashing, live burials, and burning, they slaughtered 1,280 unarmed civilians, burned 1,030 houses, looted all property in the village, and committed the horrifying Panjiadai Village Massacre.

In 1952, the Tangshan Regional Commissioner’s Office oversaw the construction of the “Anti-Japanese War Panjiadai Village Martyrs Memorial Tower” southwest of the village; in 1967, Luannan County added a memorial hall to display relics from the massacre; in 1971, the Luannan County Revolutionary Committee relocated the memorial tower to the “Thousand-Person Pit” massacre site, renaming it the “Anti-Japanese War Panjiadai Village Martyrs Monument,” which was destroyed in the 1976 Tangshan Earthquake; on July 7, 1991, the Luannan County People’s Government rebuilt the massacre site memorial stele; in November 1997, the provincial, municipal, and county governments jointly invested 5.57 million yuan to build the Panjiadai Village Massacre Memorial Hall, which officially opened on December 9, 2000.

Panjiadai Village: Panjiadai Village… More details about Panjiadai Village++

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Hebei Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units