Monument to the Martyrs of the Anxia Tragedy

Monument to the Martyrs of the Anxia Tragedy

The Monument to the Martyrs of the Anxia Tragedy is a cultural relics protection unit of Hebei Province.

On May 10, 1995, it was designated as a county-level key cultural relics protection unit by the People's Government of Zhengding County.

After the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, Japanese forces launched a large-scale southern invasion and, on October 8, invaded Anxia Village, committing the horrifying Anxia Tragedy. They massacred 365 innocent villagers, wiped out 55 households entirely, accounting for one quarter of the village’s population.

In March 1984, Xi Jinping, then Secretary of the Zhengding County Committee, presided over a meeting of the Standing Committee of the County Committee to discuss erecting a monument in memory of the 365 villagers massacred by the Japanese army in the Anxia Tragedy of 1937, and personally reviewed the inscription. On the morning of May 30, the Zhengding County Party Committee and County Government erected the monument in the center of Anxia Village. At the unveiling ceremony, Comrade Xi Jinping personally unveiled the monument and led the members of the County Party Committee and County Government, all cadres from Anxia Village, and the gathered masses in bowing three times before the monument.

The base of the monument consists of a square platform, atop which is a 0.78-meter-high Sumeru pedestal. Above the pedestal is a 0.5-meter-high plinth, supporting the white marble main body of the monument. The front bears the inscription “Monument to the Martyrs of the Anxia Tragedy,” while the reverse side features 300 characters in intaglio regular script, recounting the details of the tragedy and the number of victims. The southern wall of the monument site is inlaid with plaques titled “Cultural Relics Protection Monument,” “Monument Erection Record,” “Anxia Tragedy,” and “Rising in Resistance.” A white relief stone wall extends along the western side, and a sculpture of villagers fighting against Japanese invaders stands in front of the monument.