Former Residence of Yang Angong Scenic Area

Former Residence of Yang Angong Scenic Area

The Former Residence of Yang Angong Scenic Area is a National AAAA-level Tourist Attraction, a Chongqing Cultural Relics Protection Unit, and a Patriotic Education Base.

The Former Residence of Yang Angong Scenic Area is a National Patriotic Education Demonstration Base, a National Classic Red Tourism Site, and one of the six red tourism sites and ten classic red tourism routes in Chongqing. It includes five attractions: the former residences and memorial parks of Yang Angong and Yang Shangkun, as well as the Yang Family Ancestral House, a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit. Established as a National AAAA-level Tourist Attraction in 2011.

The Martyrs' Cemetery of Yang Angong is located at Jianzishan in Shipian Village, suburban Tongnan County, Chongqing, built to commemorate Yang Angong, a pioneer of the Chinese communist movement and the first secretary and military commission secretary of the Chongqing Local Executive Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. It is a National Key Martyrs' Memorial Building Protection Unit and a National Patriotic Education Demonstration Base.

Originally constructed in October 1986 and inscribed by Comrade Deng Xiaoping, the Martyrs' Cemetery of Yang Angong underwent a protection and renovation project initiated in 2009 by the Tongnan County Committee and County Government of the CPC. The project was master-planned by Qi Kang, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and architecture expert, expanding the site from its original 12.5 mu to 50.5 mu. The cemetery is divided into an entrance rest area, a memorial viewing area, an exhibition and office area, and a forest park area. Major attractions include a relief wall, a statue of Yang Angong, Yang Angong’s martyr tomb, and a horseshoe-shaped flower stand.

The renovated and expanded Martyrs' Cemetery of Yang Angong opened on April 6, 2011.

The Yang Shangkun Cemetery is located in Weixing Village, Zitong Subdistrict Office, Tongnan County, Chongqing, covering a total area of over 30 mu. The tomb is built with white marble, adorned with a circular wreath of emerald green granite above, and topped with a single piece of white marble inscribed with Yang Shangkun’s birth and death years (1907–1998). The tomb chamber is the joint burial site of Yang Shangkun and his wife Li Bozhao, with a biography of Li Bozhao displayed at the back.

The former residence of Yang Angong was built during the Xianfeng reign of the Qing Dynasty, with a history of over 100 years. It is a typical late Qing southern-style residential building with hanging gables and grey-tiled roofing, covering an area of 1,600 square meters. The residence displays the “Exhibition of Yang Angong’s Life and Achievements,” the “Restored Exhibition of Yang Angong and Yang Shangkun’s Childhood Life,” and the “Yang Angong Library,” recreating the glorious and combative life of the martyr Yang Angong.

The former residence of Yang Shangkun is located in Changtanzi, Jinlong Village, Shuangjiang Town. Also known as the “Changtanzi Courtyard” or “Four-Knowledge Hall,” it is the birthplace of Yang Shangkun, the fourth President of the People's Republic of China. The residence features distinctive architectural characteristics of Qing Dynasty homes and is set in a serene environment. On the centennial of Yang Shangkun’s birth, the Party Central Committee decided to renovate it while preserving its original appearance, transforming it into the Yang Shangkun Memorial Hall. Utilizing high-tech methods such as sound, light, electricity, and multimedia, the hall exhibits over 400 precious historical photos, more than 100 cultural relics and documents, and several film and video materials from Yang Shangkun’s life, highlighting the great and glorious life of the revolutionary elder Yang Shangkun.

The Yang Family Ancestral House is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit. It is one of the most completely preserved, largest, and most distinctive late Qing Dynasty residential buildings in southwestern China, hailed by the renowned Chinese architect Liang Sicheng as a “national treasure.” From design to construction, the Yang Family Ancestral House holds significant academic value and cultural significance, and is regarded as a “Museum of Qing Dynasty Residential Architecture.”

Access Routes: Take the Yu-Sui Expressway, exit at Shuangjiang Interchange—head towards Shuangjiang Town—Former Residences of Yang Angong and Yang Shangkun, Yang Family Ancestral House (approx. 5-minute drive). Take the Yu-Sui Expressway, exit at Shuangjiang Interchange—head towards the old urban area of Tongnan—Yang Shangkun Cemetery—Martyrs' Cemetery of Yang Angong (approx. 5-minute drive).

Source: Chongqing Tongnan District People's Government Website

Yang Angong, whose given name was Shangshu, also known as Angong or Kun, was born on February 18, 1898 (the 24th year of the Guangxu reign in the Qing Dynasty, March 10, 1898), in Shuangjiang Town, Suining County, Sichuan Province (transferred from Suining County to the newly established Tongnan County during the Republican era). Yang Angong’s father, Yang Huaiqing, was well-versed in classical studies and had strong patriotic ideals. Yang Angong’s eldest brother, Yang Jianqiu, graduated from Japan’s Central University and joined the revolution in Japan, becoming a member of the Tongmenghui. His second brother, Yang Hengshi, was also influenced by progressive thought and attended the Railway School in Chengdu. His cousin, Yang Baomin, joined the Tongmenghui in 1906 and participated in the Huanghuagang Uprising. This... More details about Yang Angong++

Yang Shangkun was born on July 5, 1907, in Shuangjiang Town, Suining County, Sichuan Province (now part of Tongnan County, Chongqing). In 1920, he enrolled in the affiliated elementary school of Chengdu Advanced Normal School, later transferring to the affiliated middle school. At that time, the school’s principal was Wu Yuzhang, and faculty included Yun Daiying. During his school years, he befriended many progressive youths, joined a social sciences reading club, and studied classic works such as The Communist Manifesto and progressive publications like New Youth, initially embracing Marxist ideas.

In 1925, 18-year-old Shangkun from Chengdu Advanced Normal School... More details about Yang Shangkun++

Further Reading:

· China's National Second-Class Museum