Martyrs' Monument of Dalingshan

Martyrs' Monument of Dalingshan

The Martyrs' Monument of Dalingshan is situated within Dalingshan Park in the central area of Dalingshan Town, Dongguan City. To honor the more than 120 martyrs who gave their lives in Dalingshan during the New Democratic Revolution period, the Dalingshan People's Commune Committee funded the construction of a cemetery with a total area of 100 square meters in August 1966. In October 1983, the Dalingshan District Office allocated funds for renovation and expansion, transforming it into the Martyrs' Monument of Dalingshan, with the total area enlarged to 400 square meters. The inscription on the monument was composed by the People's Government of Dongguan City.

In August 2001, while constructing Dalingshan Park, the Dalingshan Town People's Government allocated over one million yuan once again to demolish the old structure and rebuild it. The project was completed in October 2001. The expanded monument now covers a total area of 2,997 square meters. The monument column, the cemetery, and the kapok tree all align along a north-south axis. The front of the monument column faces the mountains where the martyrs once fought. The column stands 9.7 meters tall, with a reinforced concrete framework and granite stone blocks covering the body up to the top. The southern face is inscribed with seven gilded Chinese characters reading “Martyrs’ Monument,” while the northern face bears eight characters meaning “Martyrs Shall Live Forever.” The base of the monument column has a black marble section on the northern side, engraved with an inscription recounting the deeds of the martyrs, while the other three sides feature bluestone carvings depicting battle scenes of the Dalingshan military and civilians across various revolutionary periods.

The monument park is divided into three tiers: the first tier uses hollow cement bricks with lawns planted in between; the second tier is paved with marble and surrounded by carved granite railings; the third tier is also paved with marble and enclosed by ornamental granite railings. The original semi-spherical cement martyrs' cemetery has been repaved with marble, smoothed, and reshaped to resemble an ancient tomb. Evergreen pines and cypresses have been planted around the monument. On July 19, 1990, at the site where the ashes of General Wang Zuoyao, former Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the Dongjiang Column, were scattered, a kapok tree—his favorite—was planted, complementing the surrounding green pines.

(Niu Zhiping, Publicity, Science, Education and Office, Dalingshan Town)