Hengbao Campaign Martyrs Memorial Tower

Hengbao Campaign Martyrs Memorial Tower

The Hengbao Campaign Martyrs Memorial Tower is a classic red tourism destination and a patriotic education base.

The Hengbao Campaign Martyrs Memorial Tower is located on Zhangfei Ridge in Wusi Village, Huangtupu Town, Qidong County, Hengyang City.

Between September and October 1949, the main forces of the Fourth Field Army and part of the Second Field Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army launched an offensive strategy against the Kuomintang forces under Bai Chongxi in the Hengyang and Baoqing (now Shaoyang City) regions of Hunan. Within what is now Qidong County, intense battles were fought — the 135th Division in Huangtupu, the 119th Division in Yangjiaqiao, the 405th Regiment southwest of Huangtupu, the 1st Company of the 404th Regiment in Lumian Village, Huangtupu, and the 121st Division in Qiutangping, Shitingzi. Especially notable was the mobile offensive battle in Huangtupu, where the PLA bravely and tenaciously shattered the heart and nerve center of the so-called "Steel Seventh Army" — its headquarters — disrupting the enemy’s entire deployment, annihilating the Hengbao frontline command structure, exacerbating enemy confusion, and effectively delaying their retreat. Liaojia Village in today’s Hongqiao Town was the site of the PLA’s rear hospital, where nine soldiers, including Regimental Commander Chen Jinchao, sacrificed their lives due to injuries sustained in battle. The martyrs' cemetery facilities were constructed in the 1990s.

To commemorate the revolutionary martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the Hengbao Campaign, the Qidong County People’s Government built the Martyrs Memorial Monument in 2005. In July 2009, some officers and soldiers from the Jinan Military Region visited to pay tribute and experience the wartime history, which had a significant impact.

The Hengbao Campaign Martyrs Memorial Tower was designated as a Hengyang Municipal Patriotic Education Base by the Hengyang Municipal Party Committee Propaganda Department in May 2010.