Fahua Mountain Heroes Memorial Park

Fahua Mountain Heroes Memorial Park

Fahua Mountain Heroes Memorial Park is a classic red tourism destination.

Fahua Mountain is located in Banwang Village, Shangshi Town, Pingxiang City. The Battle of Fahua Mountain was a famous military engagement (details can be found on the memorial stele). Comrade [Name Redacted], who was then General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, personally inspected the Fahua Mountain position on January 31, 1984, and inscribed the words “Heroic Mountain of Fahua.” On September 21, 1981, the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China awarded the title of “Fahua Mountain Heroes Battalion” to the 2nd Battalion of a regiment of the Guangxi Border Defense Forces.

Fahua Mountain Heroes Memorial Park is situated atop Bupo哨 Hill, one kilometer south of Xiashi Community, Xiashi Town, Pingxiang City. The cemetery is located on an independent hilltop with unobstructed views in all directions, making it a prime location. National Highway 322 runs at the foot of the hill, while the Nanyou Expressway passes behind it. It is a key provincial-level martyrs’ memorial site in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Established in 1981, the park was built to bury 154 soldiers who died during the battle to reclaim and defend Fahua Mountain. It also relocated the remains of martyrs originally buried opposite Shangshi Railway Station (who also died in the Fahua Mountain battle). The martyrs interred here come from the following regions: 40 from Guangxi, 35 from Guangdong, 50 from Hunan, 2 from Hubei, 2 from Jiangxi, 3 from Fujian, 8 from Guizhou, 2 from Hebei, 5 from Shandong, 4 from Henan, 2 from Sichuan, and 1 from Hainan.

The memorial park covers an area of 23,510 square meters. Visitors ascend via 249 granite steps to reach the top, where a memorial monument stands. The front of the monument is inscribed with “Fahua Mountain Heroes Memorial Monument.” The monument is 10 meters tall and features a bronze bust of a People’s Liberation Army soldier wearing a helmet at its peak. On either side of the base are statues of a “Mother” and a “Young Pioneer.” Behind the base is a marble stele engraved with the names of the martyrs. The northern side of the monument is the burial area, where those who died in the battle to reclaim Fahua Mountain are laid to rest.

Since its establishment, the memorial park has received over 180,000 visitors, including families of the martyrs, veterans, local residents of Pingxiang, organizations based in Pingxiang, and senior officials, all coming to pay their respects. It plays a significant role in commemorating the martyrs’ heroic deeds, promoting revolutionary traditions, enhancing national defense awareness, fostering patriotism and nationalism, and uniting the strength of the nation.

The initial construction of the cemetery required an investment of over 5 million yuan, covering a built-up area of 5,685 square meters. In 2007, the renovation project was included in the 50th Anniversary Celebration projects of the Autonomous Region, with an additional investment of 870,000 yuan allocated by higher authorities. The project included replacing the facing materials of the monument, renovating the memorial platform, plaza, entrance plaza, resting platforms along the stairway, and cemetery paving, as well as repairing steps and landscaping. In 2009, the cemetery was listed under the fourth batch of the National Key Martyrs’ Cemetery and Memorial Facilities Protection and Renovation Project, part of the Central Budget Investment Plan aimed at expanding domestic demand. This project, with a total investment of 2.35 million yuan, included renovating the monument, upgrading martyr tombs, improving tomb platforms and pathways, installing drainage facilities, and constructing the entrance gate and memorial archway. In 2010, the site was included in the Central Budget Investment Plan for emergency rescue projects of border martyrs’ cemeteries related to the Sino-Vietnamese Self-Defense Counterattack War. The project involved building a memorial hall and repairing the surrounding walls, with an investment of 986,000 yuan.