HanKou Xinhai First Uprising Martyrs' Cemetery

HanKou Xinhai First Uprising Martyrs' Cemetery

The HanKou Xinhai First Uprising Martyrs' Cemetery is a Hubei Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit and a classic red tourism destination.

The HanKou Xinhai First Uprising Martyrs' Cemetery is located at No. 2 Qiuchang Road, Jiang’an District, Wuhan City. It was built to commemorate the unnamed martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the defense of Hankou during the Yangxia Campaign of the Xinhai Revolution. Covering an area of 4,326 square meters, it is one of the best-preserved and largest cemeteries of Xinhai First Uprising martyrs still existing in the Wuhan area. On October 10, 1911, the shocking Wuchang Uprising broke out, and the three towns of Wuhan were successively liberated. In order to reverse the fate of its downfall, the Qing Dynasty clashed with the revolutionary soldiers who were determined to defend the fruits of the revolution. From October 26 to November 2, 1911, a fierce battle took place in the areas of Liujiamiao (now Erqi Road) and Dazhimen (now Chezhan Road) in Hankou. The remains of over 2,000 revolutionary soldiers who died in battle were collected by the wartime Red Cross and buried together in six large tombs here, collectively known as the "Red Cross Martyrs' Tomb," commonly referred to as the "Six Big Mounds." In February of the following year, the Red Cross erected stone tablets inscribed with the word “National Martyrs” in front of each tomb to mark the memory. In 1913, the Red Cross and various charitable organizations in Hankou transformed the site into a cemetery. Li Yuanhong, the military governor of Hubei, inscribed the tombstone header with the words “Iron-Blooded Spirit” and named the cemetery “Tomb of the Martyrs Who Fell in the Hubei Army Uprising.” In 1946, Cheng Qian, director of the Wuhan Executive Yuan, ordered the Wuhan municipal government to renovate the site on its original location, enclose it with fences, build a garden, and erect monuments. The cemetery faces west and was officially named the “Xinhai First Uprising Martyrs' Cemetery,” with the tombstone inscribed as “Tomb of the Xinhai First Uprising Martyrs.” In 1955, the remains of 2,000 martyrs from another Xinhai First Uprising site in Hankou’s Dandongmen were relocated here. In 1956, the cemetery was listed as a “Hubei Provincial Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.” In 1985, the People's Government of Jiang’an District, Wuhan City, rebuilt the cemetery and erected the “Xinhai First Uprising Martyrs Monument.”

Further Reading:

· First Batch of Hubei Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units