Hongyan Spirit Square

　　Hongyan Spirit Square, the first in China to be named after the spirit of martyrs, was constructed on the former parade ground of the “Sino-American Cooperative Organization” to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the martyrdom of the revolutionary heroes who died on “11·27”.

　　The Hongyan Spirit Square is divided into two sections: the Memorial Area and the Worship Area, covering an area of 22,000 square meters. A 21-meter-wide and 18-meter-long pedestrian bridge spans above, connecting the two areas vertically, creating a unified whole. The square is majestic and composed in style.

　　The Worship Area features a red granite group sculpture of martyrs with the theme “Eternal Spirit”, standing tall and majestic like a giant ruby embedded in a sea of green. It embodies the imagery of “gazing at the dawn from the verdant Gele Mountain peak”. At the top of the Worship Area is the inverted-bowl-shaped Tomb of the Martyrs who Died on November 27. Corresponding to this is the Forest of Martyrs’ Poetic Inscriptions and the large mural “Baptism of Blood and Fire”.

　　At the western end of the Memorial Area stands a crystal-white marble monument inscribed with “Chongqing Geleshan Martyrs’ Cemetery” written by Deng Xiaoping. Along both sides of the central axis of the Memorial Area are 18 granite memorial pillars, topped with blooming red plum blossoms, symbolizing “blooming plum after the prison breaks”—the upright pillars represent the martyrs' immortal character, and their four sides are engraved with the martyrs’ final poems and words. The spacious sloping lawns on the north and south sides of the memorial pillars signify the martyrs’ aspiration “to cultivate the barren land of the motherland into a beautiful garden with the spirit of turning autumn into spring”. At the eastern end of the central axis, the Relief Wall “Immortality” sets off a musical fountain wall engraved with the lyrics and music of “Ode to the Red Plum”, echoing the group sculpture of martyrs in the Worship Area, symbolizing that although time continues to flow, the spirit of the Hongyan martyrs remains forever engraved in the river of history.

　　Source: Chongqing Hongyan Cultural Development Management Center Author: Liu Liqun