Martyrs' Shrine of the 1911 Revolution Pioneers

Martyrs' Shrine of the 1911 Revolution Pioneers

The Martyrs' Shrine of the 1911 Revolution Pioneers is a protected cultural heritage site of Wuhan and a classic red tourism attraction.

Martyrs' Shrine of the 1911 Revolution Pioneers (No. 127, Ziyang Road, Wuchang. Built in November 1911 by the Hubei Military Government to commemorate martyrs such as Peng Chufan, Liu Fugui, and Yang Hongsheng. The original structure has been destroyed, and only the memorial archway remains.)

The Martyrs' Shrine of the 1911 Revolution Pioneers is located at No. 127 on the north side of Ziyang Road in Wuchang, opposite Ziyang Park on the south side of the road, covering an area of approximately 600 square meters. This shrine was originally the site of the Ming Dynasty Chu King’s Palace. In the 43rd year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1704 AD), the “Longevity Palace” was built here. The “General Map of Streets Inside and Outside Hubei Provincial Capital” drawn in the 9th year of the Guangxu reign (1883 AD) marked this location as the “Imperial Hall.” In the early years of the Republic of China, it was temporarily used as an orphanage for the children of 1911 Revolution martyrs, and housed memorial tablets for martyrs such as Peng, Liu, and Yang. Around 1936, Yu Yuzhi, a veteran of the 1911 Revolution, oversaw the construction of the Martyrs' Shrine of the 1911 Revolution Pioneers. The main structures included a memorial archway and a thatched hall. The archway, made of cement, features three gates with double-tiered flying eaves, and bears the inscription “Martyrs' Shrine of the 1911 Revolution Pioneers” in large characters, which remains intact today. The memorial hall where the martyrs' tablets were enshrined no longer exists. The compound also houses office buildings for institutions such as the Hubei Provincial Committee of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang. The tomb of Sun Wu is located within the 1911 Revolution Martyrs' Cemetery at Fuhu Mountain in Wuchang, Wuhan, Hubei Province, sharing the same burial ground with the tomb of Wu Zhaolin. Sun Wu passed away from illness on November 10, 1939, at No. 22, Shijia Hutong, Beijing. His coffin was first kept at Jiaxing Temple in Beijing, and two years later was buried temporarily in the vegetable garden of Nianhua Temple in Beijing. In 1957, with assistance, his remains were relocated to the People’s Cemetery in the eastern suburbs of Beijing. The tomb was destroyed in the 1960s. In 1981, Sun’s descendants transported his ashes to Wuhan, where the municipal government oversaw their reinterment at the current site. The tomb faces west and is built with brick, stone, and cement in an oval shape with an earthen top. A tombstone stands in front, inscribed with “Tomb of Mr. Sun Wu.” The burial site is enclosed by a one-meter-high square wall.