Qiyang Revolutionary Martyrs Memorial Pavilion

Qiyang Revolutionary Martyrs Memorial Pavilion

The Qiyang Revolutionary Martyrs Memorial Pavilion is a cultural relic protection unit of Yongzhou City, a classic red tourism site, and a patriotic education base.

The Qiyang Revolutionary Martyrs Memorial Pavilion is located in Longshan Park in Qiyang County, Yongzhou City.

In December 1925, Communist Party member Lei Jinqian was dispatched by the Party organization to return to Qiyang to carry out revolutionary activities and develop the Party. In January 1926, after cultivation and investigation, he recruited Duan Wenyuan, Liao Kangguo, and Wang Zhenxiang as Communist Party members and established the Qiyang Special Branch of the CPC, launching a series of anti-imperialist, anti-feudal, and anti-old-regime struggles. In May 1927, the Qiyang Party organization was destroyed, and Lei Jinqian, Jiang Yuhua, Deng Guoguang, and others were killed. In September 1927, Liu Dongxuan, Chairman of the Yuebei Peasant Association and a Communist Party member, was sent by the Party under the alias Zhong Degui, accompanied by his wife Zhou Fengying and brother Liu Congran, to Qiyang to restore and develop the Party organization. In January 1928, the Qiyang County Committee of the CPC was elected and established. It subsequently carried out a series of activities, including the New Year's Eve uprising, secretly re-establishing peasant association groups, and supporting the struggle of Zhou Wen’s peasant army. In June 1928, Liu Dongxuan, Jiang Diankui, Shen Weishan, Zhou Dingwen, Chen [name incomplete], and Huang Luchang were arrested and executed.

To commemorate the revolutionary martyrs such as Lei Jinqian and Jiang Yuhua who sacrificed their lives in Qiyang between 1927 and 1928, the Qiyang County People's Government erected a Revolutionary Martyrs Monument in Longshan Park in October 1951, and built a wooden memorial pavilion of the same style and specifications on the monument. One tablet bore the inscription “Spirit Immortal” written by Tao Zhu; another bore the inscription “Spirit Lives On” written by Wang Shoudao, with the names of nine martyrs who died during the Great Revolution in Qiyang from 1927 to 1928 and the monument inscription engraved on the back. During the Cultural Revolution, the tablet inscribed by Tao Zhu was destroyed and was re-erected in December 1980. The front still displays Tao Zhu’s inscription “Spirit Immortal,” while the back features an explanation by the Qiyang County People's Government regarding the re-erection.

The memorial pavilion was originally made of wood but had suffered from long-term exposure to sun and rain, resulting in damaged tiles and rotten wood. In 2001, the county government allocated special funds to rebuild the two pavilions. They retained the hexagonal double-eave design, but the structure was changed to reinforced concrete, and the gray tiles were replaced with yellow glazed tiles. The Qiyang Longshan Martyrs Memorial Pavilion is situated at a higher elevation with flat terrain, surrounded by towering ancient trees and a tranquil environment. The two tablets are made of white marble, standing 2.4 meters and 2.6 meters tall respectively. The memorial pavilion features six sides, six pillars, and twelve flying eaves, with red pillars and yellow glazed tiles. It stands 10.5 meters tall, with the two pavilions 2.9 meters apart. The buildings cover a floor area of 90 square meters, with a protected area of approximately 10,000 square meters.

The Qiyang Revolutionary Martyrs Memorial Pavilion was designated as a cultural relic protection unit of Qiyang County by the Qiyang County People's Government in May 1986, as a cultural relic protection unit of Yongzhou City by the Yongzhou Municipal People's Government in May 2003, and as a patriotic education base of Yongzhou City by the Publicity Department of the Yongzhou Municipal Committee in September 2007.