Shuangfeng Mountain Scenic Area

Shuangfeng Mountain Scenic Area

Shuangfeng Mountain Scenic Area is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction.

Developed in 1974, Shuangfeng Mountain Scenic Area is a public institution directly under the Hebei Provincial Department of Civil Affairs. It is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction, a provincial-level patriotic education base, a provincial-level national defense education base, and a model unit for integrity culture among provincial government agencies.

The scenic area is situated in the western part of Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital, and covers an area of over 200,000 square meters. It is composed of six major sections: the Martyrs Memorial Area, the Social Memorial Area, the Mountain Landscape Area, the Water System Landscape Area, the Parking Area, and the Office Area. The park features a well-planned layout, pleasant natural scenery, solemn and majestic memorial structures, and elegantly arranged pavilions and towers. It serves as a large-scale comprehensive memorial park integrating leisure, tourism, and education, receiving over 1.2 million visitors annually, including government and enterprise employees, students, international friends, and people from all walks of life.

Main Features of the Scenic Area

The scenic area combines red tourism with natural landscapes, integrating tourism resources to make its development more rational and visually appealing. Based on the unit’s functions and the characteristics of the scenic area, a distinctive logo has been designed, along with the quality objectives of “beautifying the landscape environment, optimizing the development environment, promoting the spirit of martyrs, and spreading red culture,” and the quality policy of “ecology, harmony, and excellence.”

Key attractions in the scenic area include the Hebei Martyrs Memorial Park. Major memorial structures consist of the Hebei Martyrs Memorial Hall, the National Anthem Square, the “The Republic Will Not Forget” Monument, the Sha Fei Memorial Hall, the Huang Qi Art Museum, as well as the burial sites and memorial statues of a large number of revolutionary pioneers such as Tian Han and An E (lyricists of songs like “March of the Volunteers” and “Fight Back to Our Hometown”), intimate comrades of martyr Yang Jingyu and one of the founders of the Henan Communist Party organization—Wang Kexin, Shijiazhuang’s first Municipal Party Secretary Tao Xijin and his wife Zhu Lian (Shijiazhuang’s first female Communist Party member and head of the city’s underground party secret liaison point), China’s first revolutionary photographer—Sha Fei, the commander of the Battle of Shijiazhuang Liberation Wang Zhao and Fu Chongbi. The memorial structures are uniquely designed, embodying profound red revolutionary culture and showcasing strong humanistic spirit.

Shuangfeng Mountain Scenic Area features undulating terrain, evergreen surroundings, and a green coverage rate of 95%. The main vegetation includes pines, cypresses, phoenix trees, walnuts, boxwoods, privets, ginkgos, magnolia, photinia, red flowered loropetalum, weigela, osmanthus, peonies, tree peonies, and lilacs. The combination of trees, shrubs, flowers, and grass creates an excellent landscape effect and provides a great habitat for birds and insects. Large and rare birds such as herons are often seen here, contributing to a favorable ecological environment. Within the park, the serene and picturesque Shuangfeng Lake, magnificent water fountain displays, lush and towering North and South Mountains, solemnly embedded memorial structures, and elegantly arranged pavilions and towers create a tranquil and approachable scenery. This forms an elegant environment where seasonal views, mountains and waters, natural and cultural landscapes, and traditional and modern cultures coexist harmoniously.

The Hebei Martyrs Memorial Hall within the scenic area exhibits the heroic deeds of renowned martyrs from Hebei Province or those who sacrificed their lives within the region since 1840. It houses over 2,800 historical photos, more than 300 revolutionary history books, over 570 revolutionary relics, and precious handwritten manuscripts totaling over 100,000 words from martyrs, including valuable manuscripts of works by Tian Han and An E, the earliest official newspaper of the Shijiazhuang Municipal Committee “Zheng Yan Bao,” as well as over 20 personally written inscriptions, letters, and personal items from revolutionary veterans such as Deng Yingchao, Liu Lantao, Xiao Ke, Yang Chengwu, and Fu Chongbi. Among the collections, there is one national first-class relic (a medical kit gifted by Norman Bethune to Comrade Zhu Lian) and one second-class relic (a horse blanket personally made by Comrade Zhu Lian). The Sha Fei Memorial Hall houses a Leica camera gifted by Norman Bethune to Sha Fei, the wheels, saddles, and film canisters used by the Jin-Cha-Ji Pictorial during the Anti-Japanese War, as well as seals used by Sha Fei. The grading of these relics is currently underway.

Historical Development

Over the past 30-plus years since its establishment, the scenic area has made significant progress in construction and development under the care and strong support of governments at the provincial and municipal levels, as well as through the joint efforts of several generations of builders. Especially since 2009, when the park was designated as a patriotic education base in Hebei Province, leveraging the opportunity of patriotic education and red tourism projects, long-term development plans and short-term goals were formulated. A total of 15 million yuan in patriotic education construction funds and 8 million yuan from the Hebei Provincial Department of Civil Affairs were secured. These funds were used to construct the country’s second National Anthem Square and the “The Republic Will Not Forget” Monument, renovate the Hebei Martyrs Memorial Hall, and rewrite its exhibition outline. The newly arranged Hebei Martyrs Memorial Hall comprehensively showcases the touching stories of martyrs and exemplary figures from all walks of life that emerged in the Yanzhao region—from the period of the New Democratic Revolution to the socialist construction period after the founding of New China. Covering a wide range of time and scope with profound educational significance, it serves as a historical microcosm of Hebei’s revolutionary struggle and developmental construction.

In recent years, the scenic area has hosted events such as the “Provincial Capital Military-Civilian Flower Basket Offering Ceremony to the Martyrs Monument,” the unveiling ceremonies of the statues of Tian Han and An E, the unveiling ceremony of the Sha Fei statue, the Sha Fei photography exhibition, concerts of works by Tian Han and An E, and seminars on Sha Fei’s works. It receives over 1.2 million visitors from all sectors of society annually, hosts 5–6 visits from leaders of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and civil affairs departments from other provinces, organizes over 30 report meetings on exemplary deeds for military units, government agencies, and university students, achieving excellent social benefits. The construction and development of the memorial park, as well as visiting activities, have been widely reported by provincial and municipal news media.

Honors and Awards

In recent years, Shuangfeng Mountain Scenic Area has been awarded the title of “Advanced Unit in Funeral Reform” by the Ministry of Civil Affairs of China. Since 2008, it has been repeatedly recognized as a “Civilized Unit” by the Hebei Provincial Directly Subordinate Work Committee. From 2007 to 2011, it received honors such as “Advanced Grassroots Party Branch” and “Advanced Unit in Professional Ethics Construction” from the Hebei Provincial Department of Civil Affairs. In 2009, it was named a Patriotic Education Base by the Hebei Provincial Committee of the CPC and the People’s Government of Hebei Province. In 2011, it was designated as a National Defense Education Base by the People’s Government of Hebei Province and the Hebei Provincial Military Command. In 2012, it passed the National Quality Management System Certification. In 2012, it was recognized as an Advanced Unit in Fire Safety by the People’s Government of Luquan City. In 2013, it was rated as a AAAA-level tourist attraction by the National Tourism Administration.

Transportation and Tourism Information

Shuangfeng Mountain Scenic Area is located in the western suburbs of Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital. It is 28 kilometers from Shijiazhuang Airport, 7 kilometers from Shijiazhuang’s New Railway Station, adjacent to the Third Ring Road of Shijiazhuang, and 3 kilometers from the Qingyin Expressway and Shitai Expressway. Direct bus routes such as Tourist Route 7 and Tourist Route 12 are available. With smooth roads and convenient transportation, the area boasts a superior geographical location, making it an ideal leisure and sightseeing destination for tourists from the provincial capital and surrounding provinces and cities.

The scenic area is close to attractions such as Fenglong Mountain, the West Mountain Boulevard Scenic Area, Longquan Temple, Baodu Fortress, and Shijiazhuang Zoo. The distances from the park to these sites and the entrance of the expressway to Xibaipo are all within a 10-kilometer radius.

Historical, Cultural, and Scientific Value

Hebei is a revolutionary old base area. On this red land, 220,000 brave sons and daughters of Yanzhao sacrificed their precious lives for national liberation and prosperity. In the Battle of Shijiazhuang alone, over 6,000 soldiers gave their lives for the country. Relying on its abundant red revolutionary historical resources and with high attention and deep care from the Party and government, Shuangfeng Mountain has continued to grow and thrive. The lyricist of the March of the Volunteers, Tian Han, and his wife An E, Shijiazhuang’s first Municipal Party Secretary Tao Xijin and his wife Zhu Lian, the founder of the Henan Communist Party organization Wang Kexin, founding generals Wang Zhao and Fu Chongbi, and one of the prototypes of the heroic figure in the movie “Heroic Sons and Daughters”—First Class Merit awardee female soldier of the Volunteer Army Xie Xiumei—are all laid to rest on Shuangfeng Mountain.

Leveraging its red resources, Shuangfeng Mountain Scenic Area has greatly enriched its collections and gradually become an important base for exploring the deeds and spirit of martyrs. Organizations and individuals such as Tian Dawai (son of Tian Han) and the Tian Han Foundation, Sha Fei’s daughter Wang Yan and the Sha Fei Image Research Center, and the Japanese Sha Fei Research Association have organized multiple seminars here. Experts in Chinese red culture research from both domestic and international backgrounds have attended and delivered important presentations, playing a positive role in further exploring the thoughts of martyrs and inheriting red culture.

Shuangfeng Mountain Scenic Area shoulders the vital mission of “commemorating martyrs and educating the public.” It promotes and passes on the spirit of the martyrs through generations, making the scenic area an important site for patriotic and revolutionary tradition education in Hebei Province and even across the nation. It has also become a renowned revolutionary memorial destination with distinct contemporary and regional characteristics, dedicated to researching and promoting the glorious achievements of Hebei’s revolutionary martyrs.