Battlefield Site of Yongxiang Mountain

Battlefield Site of Yongxiang Mountain

The Battlefield Site of Yongxiang Mountain is a cultural tourism attraction and a classic red tourism destination.

The Battlefield Site of Yongxiang Mountain is located about 1,000 meters north of Yongxiangshan Village, Yijing Town, Shenchi County. In 1945, the 36th Regiment of the Second Sub-district of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Military Region of the Eighth Route Army engaged in skirmishes with Japanese forces in the Hengshan area. On July 24, heavily outnumbered by the Japanese army, the brave Eighth Route soldiers fought valiantly, and their regimental commander, Gao Yongxiang, was killed in action. To commemorate Gao Yongxiang, after 1949, Hengshan Village was renamed Yongxiangshan Village. The battlefield site is spread across two hilltops, covering an area of approximately 20,000 square meters. The main hilltop still has dugouts and fortifications built by the Eighth Route Army. These fortifications form a circular perimeter around the top of the hill, with a base diameter of 30 meters, constructed from a mix of earth and stone. The foundation width is unknown, while the top width ranges from 1.2 to 1.5 meters, with inner walls standing 0.3 to 0.6 meters high and outer walls rising 1 to 2 meters. (From “A Collection of Cultural Relics in Xinzhou”)

Source: Xinzhou Website

Gao Yongxiang, also known as Jixiang, was born in 1912 into a poor farming family in Lingtai, Gansu. Poverty prevented him from attending school, so from a young age he herded cattle and sheep, chopped wood, and cut grass. The determined Gao Yongxiang deeply resented his family’s poverty and felt intense hatred watching landlords seize their grain.

In 1926, after three years as an apprentice in a tailor shop, Gao Yongxiang planned to open his own clothing store and start an independent business. However, he was conscripted into the 26th Route Army of the Kuomintang under Sun Lianzhong.

In 1931, the 26th Route Army was deployed to Jiangxi to “encircle and suppress” the Central Soviet Area… More details on Gao Yongxiang++

Yongxiangshan Village: Yongxiangshan Village… More details on Yongxiangshan Village++