Comrade Xiang Jingyu Memorial

　　Comrade Xiang Jingyu Memorial, located in the county town of Xupu on the middle reaches of the Xiangxiyuan River, covers a total area of 8,800 square meters. The memorial is eight hundred meters from Xupu Railway Station and 1,500 meters from Xupu Bus Station. The Comrade Xiang Jingyu Memorial is a commemorative museum established in honor of Xiang Jingyu, a female Chinese communist fighter and a pioneer of the women’s movement. It is situated in the county town of Xupu, Hunan Province. Originally the Xiang Jingyu Former Residence Management Office, it opened to the public on July 1, 1981, and was renamed the Comrade Xiang Jingyu Memorial on September 4, 1985.

　　　The memorial consists of three parts: the former residence of Comrade Xiang Jingyu, an exhibition room displaying her life and achievements, and a monument square. The former residence was built in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties as a local-style wooden quadrangle courtyard covering over 1,200 square meters. Inside the courtyard, there is a “restored former residence display” and an “exhibition of Xiang Jingyu’s handwritten works,” showcasing over 40 physical objects along with more than 30 items including her essays, diaries, reading notes from her school days, and manuscripts and letters written during her revolutionary activities. The Xiang Jingyu Life and Achievement Exhibition Room is located to the east of the former residence.

　　The exhibition room has a display line of 41 meters and an area of 84 square meters. Among the exhibits are a book basket, dressing case, needle tube, and shoe brush used by Xiang Jingyu during her school years, as well as manuscripts and handwritten letters from the founding period of the Party and the First Revolutionary Civil War. In the monument square, there stands a 9.4-meter-tall statue monument of Comrade Xiang Jingyu. The top features a spirited statue of Xiang Jingyu, created by renowned Chinese sculptor Zhu Weijing. The front of the monument bears eight gilded characters inscribed by [a leader] reading “Monument to Comrade Xiang Jingyu,” while the other three sides are inlaid with the full text of “Biography of Comrade Xiang Jingyu” written by Cai Hesen in July 1928 in Moscow.

　　The memorial has also hosted temporary exhibitions such as “Unequal Treaties Imposed on China by Imperialism,” “The History of the Communist Party in Xupu,” and “Martyrs of Xupu.”
　　Temporary Exhibitions

　　General Overview

　　　　Comrade Xiang Jingyu Memorial, originally named the Xiang Jingyu Former Residence Management Office, opened on July 1, 1981, and was officially renamed on September 4, 1985. The memorial is located in the county town of Xupu on the middle reaches of the Xiangxiyuan River, covering a total area of 8,800 square meters. The site enjoys convenient transportation, with the Xiang-Qian Railway, which runs through southwestern China, passing through the county town. The memorial is just eight hundred meters from Xupu Railway Station and about 1,500 meters from Xupu Bus Station.
　　The memorial is situated in a bustling area in the center of the county town: it borders Provincial Highway 1840 to the east, faces Jinyu West Street to the north, neighbors the “Xupu Girls’ School” (now renamed “Jinyu School”), founded by Xiang Jingyu, to the west, and lies close to the meandering Xupu River to the south. The courtyard is shaded by lush greenery, offering a beautiful natural environment.

　　The memorial consists of three main parts: the former residence of Comrade Xiang Jingyu, the life achievement exhibition room, and the bronze statue and monument square of Xiang Jingyu.

　　The former residence of Xiang Jingyu was built in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties as a local-style wooden...

　　...courtyard-style quadrangle, covering an area of over 1,200 square meters. The main rooms face north and south, with a storeroom tower to the west and guest rooms to the east. The two rooms adjacent to the central party wall of the main house include one that was the bedroom of Xiang Jingyu’s parents, where she was born in April 1895, and another that was her own bedroom during her youth, now restored as it was originally. The western storeroom tower served as the study room for Xiang Jingyu and her family, where her student-era diary is displayed. It now functions as the Handwritten Works Exhibition Room of Xiang Jingyu, showcasing some of her school essays, diaries, reading notes, and drafts of letters related to her revolutionary activities. The courtyard includes a “restored former residence display” and an “exhibition of Xiang Jingyu’s handwritten works,” showing over 40 physical objects and more than 30 items including her school-era essays, diaries, reading notes, and manuscripts and letters from her revolutionary work. The Life and Achievement Exhibition Room is located east of the former residence, featuring a 41-meter display line and 84 square meters of exhibition space. Exhibits include a book basket, dressing case, needle tube, and shoe brush used by Xiang Jingyu in her school years, as well as manuscripts and handwritten letters from the Party’s founding period and the First Revolutionary Civil War. In the monument square stands a 9.4-meter-tall statue monument of Comrade Xiang Jingyu. The base is made of Chinese red granite, and the statue at the top, created by renowned sculptor Zhu Weijing, depicts Xiang Jingyu in full figure. The front of the monument is engraved with eight gilded characters reading “Monument to Comrade Xiang Jingyu,” inscribed by [a leader], while the other three sides feature the full text of “Biography of Comrade Xiang Jingyu” written by Cai Hesen. The memorial has also hosted temporary exhibitions such as “Unequal Treaties Imposed on China by Imperialism,” “The History of the Communist Party in Xupu,” and “Martyrs of Xupu.” The structure consists of the former residence, the exhibition room, and the monument square.
　　In 1978, the People’s Government of Hunan Province allocated funds to renovate the former residence of Xiang Jingyu; it officially opened to the public in 1981; in 1995, it was listed as one of the first batch of patriotic education bases in Hunan Province; on November 20, 1996, it was designated as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level.

　　Architectural Structure

　　　　The memorial consists of the former residence of Comrade Xiang Jingyu, the life achievement exhibition room, and the monument square.
　　The former residence is a local-style wooden quadrangle courtyard, a five-pillar post-and-lintel structure enclosed by walls, facing south. It covers an area of 1,444 square meters, with a built-up area of 694 square meters and a total building height of 5.4 meters. The roof features...

　　...double eaves, with a lower layer of overhanging eaves and an upper layer of a hip-and-gable roof, featuring upturned wing corners and uniquely styled horse-head walls. The northern main house is the principal structure, originally built in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.
　　The memorial has also hosted temporary exhibitions such as “Unequal Treaties Imposed on China by Imperialism,” “The History of the Communist Party in Xupu,” and “Martyrs of Xupu.”

　　Xiang Jingyu (1895~1928)　　 Xiang Jingyu (1895–1928) Minister of Women’s Affairs of the CPC Central Committee, revolutionary martyr. Born in 1895 in Shupu County, Hunan Province, into a merchant family, she was of Tujia ethnicity and originally named Xiang Junxian. On September 4, 1895, she was born into a merchant family in Shupu County. After graduating from Zhou Nan Girls' School in November 1916, filled with the ideal of saving the nation through education, she returned to Shupu to establish the coeducational Shupu Girls' School. During her time running the school, she worked hard to reform the curriculum, abolishing rote learning of the Four Books and Five Classics and introducing practical courses such as sewing and home economics. She promoted education for national salvation, fought against the feudal practice of foot-binding, and spread new ideas among students under the school motto of “self-discipline and public spirit,” teaching... More+