Panjiayu Massacre Site (Memorial Hall)

Panjiayu Massacre Site (Memorial Hall)

The Panjiayu Massacre Site (Memorial Hall) is a national AA-level tourist attraction, a key cultural relic protection unit of China, a classic red tourism destination, and a patriotic education base.

On January 25, 1941, Japanese invaders committed a horrific massacre in Panjiayu, killing 1,230 out of the village’s 1,700 residents. The people of Panjiayu were not intimidated—they wiped the blood from their bodies, buried their loved ones, picked up their weapons, and continued the fight.

To commemorate the victims of the Panjiayu massacre that occurred on January 25, 1941, the relevant authorities have since protected and utilized the site. In 1952, the Tangshan Special District allocated funds to build a cemetery south of the village, which includes four burial mounds, a memorial monument, and a ancestral hall. In 1972, the then-Fengrun County People’s Government invested in constructing a museum, initially called the Panjiayu Revolutionary Memorial Hall. It had eight exhibition rooms, six rooms for cultural relics storage and office use, totaling 430 square meters. In 1995, the Panjiayu Massacre Site was designated as a patriotic education base by the Hebei Provincial Party Committee and Government. The museum was renamed the Panjiayu Massacre Memorial Hall, and construction of a new building began. The new hall was planned starting in 1997 and took a year and a half to complete, with a total investment of 4.128 million yuan—1.23 million from the province, 1.57 million from Tangshan City, and 1.328 million from the former Fengrun County.

The museum’s design was awarded first prize by the National Ministry of Construction, its construction was recognized as a high-quality project by the Tangshan Municipal Construction Commission, and its interior exhibition was rated as an excellent project by the Hebei Provincial Interior Decoration Quality Supervision Station. The memorial hall building covers a total area of 1,246 square meters, including a foyer, main hall, rear hall, and audio-visual screening room. Outside, there are six historical sites: the West Pit, Old Locust Tree, Small Iron Gate, Japanese Command Post, Pan Family Courtyard, and South Rock. The exhibition inside the hall houses 56 cultural relics, including two first-class relics, one second-class relic, four third-class relics, and 49 general relics. Through original photographs, artifacts, and text descriptions, it reveals the brutal atrocities of the Japanese invaders, showcases the indomitable fighting spirit of the people of Panjiayu, and highlights the national and patriotic spirit of the Chinese people under the leadership of the Party. In June 2001, the Panjiayu Massacre Memorial Hall was named a national-level patriotic education base by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee.

More than 50 years have passed since the world-shocking Panjiayu Massacre. To honor the martyrs and educate future generations, local governments and Panjiayu villagers have since 1952 restored four burial mounds of the victims, erected four tombstones, one memorial monument, one memorial tower, built an ancestral hall, and constructed a memorial hall. In 1995, the Panjiayu Massacre Site was listed as an “Hebei Provincial Patriotic Education Base” by the Hebei Provincial Party Committee and Government. The provincial, municipal, and county governments invested a total of 3.7 million yuan to build the Massacre Memorial Hall and implemented effective protection measures for six historical sites, including the West Pit and South Rock. The new Panjiayu Massacre Memorial Hall broke ground on August 12, 1997, and was completed on November 30, 1998. During construction, the Fengrun County Patriotic Education Leadership Group placed high importance on the project, carefully planned, and adhered to principles of high-standard design and construction. They strengthened quality supervision, ensured high-quality standards, and consulted multiple times with the Tangshan Design and Research Institute to finalize designs with experts. Designers and supervisors were also organized to provide on-site guidance, ensuring the memorial hall achieved the highest possible architectural standards. The Panjiayu Massacre Memorial Hall faces south and is located in the center of the village, east of a small river opposite the “Pan Family Courtyard,” with roads connecting to the south, west, and north. It covers an area of 4.5 mu (approximately 0.3 hectares) with a building area of 1,246 square meters. The entire structure is a plain, dignified, and solemn two-story gray-white building with a prominent theme. The memorial hall adopts an asymmetrical layout based on the terrain, with the main entrance set on one side of the road. The wall bears the inscription “Panjiayu Massacre Memorial Hall,” written by General Li Yunchang, former commander of the Jidong Military Subdistrict.

Telephone

0315-5161113

Admission Fee

10 yuan; free admission for group student visits.

Location

Panjiayu Village, Huoshiying Town, Fengrun District, Tangshan City, Hebei Province

Further Reading:

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

· Sixth Batch of Key Cultural Relics Protection Units of China