February 7th Memorial Hall

February 7th Memorial Hall

The February 7th Memorial Hall is a cultural relic protection unit of Hubei Province and a base for patriotic education.

In February 1923, under the leadership of the CPC, workers of the Beijing-Hankou Railway fought against imperialism and feudalism in a struggle to secure the freedom to establish a general labor union and to uphold the political rights of the working class. On February 1st, when the General Union held its founding assembly in Zhengzhou, it was disrupted and sabotaged by warlord Wu Peifu. That evening, it was resolved to launch a general railway strike as an act of protest, and the slogan “Fight for freedom, fight for justice!” was put forward. It was also decided to relocate the General Union’s office to Hankou’s Jiang’an district. On February 4th, the strike commenced. Workers along the entire Beijing-Hankou Railway acted in unison, halting all train operations. The over 1,200-kilometer-long railway came to a complete standstill. On February 7th, with the support of imperialism, Wu Peifu carried out violent crackdowns on striking workers in Hankou’s Jiang’an, Zhengzhou, and Changxindian, among other places. The railway workers bravely fought back against their oppressors. Lin Xiangqian, Chairman of the Jiang’an Branch Union, Shi Yang, legal advisor to the General Union, and 50 others were brutally killed, while hundreds were injured, marking the infamous “February 7th Massacre” in history.

This strike received strong support from people across China and workers around the world, greatly enhancing the political prestige of the CPC and fully demonstrating the great unity and fighting strength of the Chinese working class. It wrote a glorious chapter in the history of the Chinese labor movement. February 7th has since become a memorial day commemorating the courageous struggle of the Chinese working class.

To commemorate this significant historical event—the great February 7th Strike—In 1956, the Ministry of Railways of the People’s Republic of China, along with the People’s Governments of Hubei Province and Wuhan Municipality, built the Wuhan February 7th Memorial Hall at Jiang’an, where the martyrs had valiantly fought. It was designated as a provincial key cultural relic protection unit. In 1958, Mao Zedong inscribed the inscription for the “February 7th Martyrs Monument.” In 1985, due to the limited space of the original exhibition hall, the provincial and municipal governments, together with the Ministry of Railways, invested in relocating and constructing a new building. In 1986, Dong Biwu inscribed the nameplate for the newly relocated “Wuhan February 7th Memorial Hall.”

The memorial hall covers an area of 27,500 square meters and houses 89 pieces of cultural relics and artifacts, including 3 first-class national relics and 17 second-class national relics, with an exhibition line stretching 1,200 meters. The February 7th Martyrs Monument, situated in the center of the memorial hall square, was relocated and completed in 1999, with central leaders personally attending the unveiling ceremony at the memorial hall.

After years of continuous improvement, it has become an important site for both domestic and international visitors to pay tribute to the February 7th revolution. It has been named a “National Patriotic Education Demonstration Base” by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee.

Address: No. 2499 Jiefang Avenue

Phone: 027-82934390

Transportation: Take bus routes 3, 4, 211, 212, 301, 305, 508, 509, 555, 577, 622, 707, 717, 721, 727, 809, or Light Rail Line 1 to Xuzhou New Village Station, then walk to the site.

Admission: Free

Further reading:

· China's National Third-Class Museum