Monument to the Martyrs of the First Division of the Guangdong Army

Monument to the Martyrs of the First Division of the Guangdong Army

The Monument to the Martyrs of the First Division of the Guangdong Army is a protected cultural heritage site of Guangzhou.

The Monument to the Martyrs of the First Division of the Guangdong Army in Republican-era Guangzhou is located on Niuyan Hill beside the Guangzhou-Shantou Highway in Yantang, Shahe, Guangzhou. Facing west and built with a reinforced concrete structure clad in granite, the monument stands approximately 38 meters tall. The entire structure consists of two parts: the lower section is a rectangular base, comprising 1–3 levels with air vents along the perimeter, measuring 15.2 meters on the bottom edge and 12.9 meters in width; the upper section, levels 4–9, forms the main body of the monument, shaped like a square pyramid, with each side of the fourth level measuring 6 meters. The front top of the monument features the Kuomintang emblem, the "Blue Sky with a White Sun." The center is inscribed with eleven large characters reading “Monument to the Martyrs of the First Division of the Guangdong Army” and the date “September 1939 (the 28th year of the Republic of China).”

In 1917, Sun Yat-sen moved south—although supported by the navy, he had no substantial armed forces of his own and was constrained by the Guangxi Clique. To address this, he established the Guangdong Army based on about 5,000 troops from the original 20 provincial defense battalions, with Chen Jiongming as commander-in-chief and Deng Zhongyuan as chief of staff. Soon after its formation, the army marched to “support Fujian.” In 1920, it returned to Guangdong, recaptured Guangzhou, and drove out the Guangxi warlords. Sun Yat-sen expanded the Guangdong Army into five corps, with Deng Zhongyuan continuing to serve as chief of staff of the general headquarters and as commander of the First Division of the First Corps. Upon its establishment, the First Division participated in the campaign against the Guangxi Clique, defeating its remaining forces along the Xiaobeijiang River in northern Guangdong. After Deng Zhongyuan was assassinated in 1922, Liang Hongkai took over as division commander. The division later took part in the First Eastern Expedition, assisted in the unification of Guangxi, and suppressed the Yang-Xu Rebellion. In 1925, it was expanded into the Fourth Army of the National Revolutionary Army and participated in the Second Eastern Expedition, the Southern Campaign, and the Northern Expedition, earning numerous merits. In 1939, a cemetery for fallen soldiers of the First Division of the Guangdong Army was built on Niuyan Hill. It fell into disuse after 1950, later becoming an open-air warehouse, losing much of its original appearance—yet the monument survived and retained its original form. It underwent restoration in 1986.

In 1993, the Guangzhou Municipal People's Government designated it as a cultural heritage protection unit.

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Guangzhou Cultural Heritage Protection Units