Mass Grave of Martyrs Who Died in the March 31st Massacre

Mass Grave of Martyrs Who Died in the March 31st Massacre

The Mass Grave of Martyrs Who Died in the March 31st Massacre is a municipal cultural relics protection unit in Chongqing.

The mass grave site of martyrs who died in the March 31st Massacre is located in Wulidian, Jiangbei District. Covering an area of over 2,000 square meters and designed as a garden complex, the site consists of two parts: the Exhibition Hall for Martyrs of the March 31st Massacre and the mass grave. The exhibition hall is a fan-shaped building with one basement and one ground floor, spanning a construction area of 380 square meters. The mass grave includes a porch, a tombstone, and a corridor. The tombstone stands 16 meters tall in total. Its lower part, the base, is built from bluestone, engraved with the names of 15 martyrs who died (some names are unknown). The upper section is a rectangular main body, 9 meters high, made of jujube-red marble, with a blazing flame carved on the front and the bold characters “March 31” molded across the top. In front of the tombstone is a forged bronze statue depicting “a mother cradling her fallen son.” The back of the tombstone is inscribed with “Mass Grave of Martyrs Who Died in the Chongqing March 31st Massacre.”

On March 24, 1927, the Northern Expeditionary Army captured Nanjing. Under the pretext of "protecting overseas nationals," British imperialists bombarded the city with warships that same day, resulting in over 2,000 Chinese military and civilian casualties. On March 31, people from all walks of life in Chongqing gathered at Daba near Tongyuanmen in the downtown area for the “Chongqing Citizens’ Assembly Against the Anglo-American Bombing of Nanjing,” attended by more than 20,000 participants. Warlord Liu Xiang took the opportunity to suppress the revolution. Soldiers from the 3rd Division (led by Wang Lingji) and 7th Division (led by Lan Wenbin) of Liu Xiang’s 21st Army, along with militiamen under the command of local warlords Shen Wenying and Cao Xiexian from Baxian County, launched a bloody massacre using guns, swords, and clubs. More than 300 were killed, over 300 seriously injured, and countless others sustained minor injuries. The chairman of the assembly’s presidium, the renowned economist and leftist member of the Kuomintang Qi Nanxun, and leftist KMT general Chen Dasan were killed on the spot. The leftist Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Kuomintang, the Sino-French University, and other institutions were sealed or destroyed. This tragic event became known as the March 31st Massacre. Following the incident, the bodies of 20 student victims were buried in Caojiaping, Wulidian, Jiangbei.

In March 1985, the People's Government of Jiangbei District began constructing a memorial grave site for the martyrs who died in the March 31st Massacre at Caojiaping, Wulidian. The project was completed in March 1987. Yang Shangkun, then Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, attended the unveiling ceremony, personally unveiled the site, and inscribed the words: “Mass Grave of Martyrs Who Died in the Chongqing March 31st Massacre.”

The Mass Grave of Martyrs Who Died in the March 31st Massacre is a municipal cultural relics protection unit in Chongqing.

Source: Chongqing Party History Website