memorial mausoleum of the martyrs of nineteenth route army  in the battle against japanese aggressors at north shanghai

located at no.113, shuiyin road, north of xianlie road, guangzhou city, with the total floor area of 62000 m2, the mausoleum was erected with the contribution of the overseas chinese in 1933 in honor of the martyrs of nineteenth route army in the battle against japanese aggressors at north shanghai on january 28, 1932. this mausoleum is a building on a grand scale, with rigorous pattern of layout and imposing appearance of solemnity and elegance. the tomb way running north and south forms a very obvious axis, the main building built of granite is a mausoleum of the architectural style developed by the ancient romans.

as the witness of achievement of the people's struggle in modern history of china, the mausoleum is the historical monuments for martyrs under state protection, the base for patriotism education of the city, province and the country, and the historical monuments & cultural relics under state protection as well as the class for patriotism education of the youth, students and domestic tourists.

the main buildings inside the mausoleum are: seven memorial buildings, i.e., triumphal arch, tomb of soldiers, anti-japanese pavilion, heroes’ name monument, memorial of martyrs, tomb of officers, tomb of generals and monument of martyrs, and relievo walls as well as aviation monument, etc.

the triumphal arch built of granite of the romans architectural style was constructed in 1932, located at the intersection of shaheding, xianlie road and shuiyin road, with the height of 13.4m, width of 11m and floor area of 40.7 m2. “memorial mausoleum of the martyrs of nineteenth route army in the battle against japanese aggressors”, the epigraph of mr. linshen, the former chairman of kuomintang government was carved on the doorhead, while “blood shed for justice and royal heart for nation”, the inscription of mr. song ziwen, the former leader of executive committee of kuomingtang government was on the back side.

in 1931, the japanese aggressors made the “sept. 18” event, invaded and occupied three provinces in the north-east of china. on january 28, 1932, they broke in zhabei, shanghai, general director jiang guangnai and commander cai tingkai of nineteenth route army, patriot generals of kuomingtang stationed north shanghai, led the whole army to fight bravely against the enemies, the battle against japanese aggressors at north shanghai which shocked the country and the world broke out. then the fifth army led by mr. zhang zhizhong also took part in the war and gave the japanese army a heavy blow. the nineteenth route army beat back the enemies valiantly for 33 days with more than 100 combats, forced the japanese army to change their general three times and lost more than 10,000 soldiers. but the nineteenth route army had to retreat to the second line of defense because they were hopelessly outnumbered. armistice at north shanghai was sign on may 5, tragically heroic and violent battle against japanese aggressors at north shanghai was over.

that the nineteenth route army fought against japanese aggressors at north shanghai is a great accomplishment of the chinese nation. it retarded the steps of the japanese aggression to china., roused the fighting will of soldiers and civilians to safeguard the state against the enemy, and started the new situation of local war against the japanese by the chinese army. it was so rich in significance in the war of resistance against japan.

so this mausoleum was erected in order to commemorate the martyrs in the battle and commend the act of nineteenth route army against the enemy.

located at the west of mausoleum, and the north of the tomb of soldiers, the relievo walls are composed by the wall and the square, with the floor area of 1250m2, and built of granite. the whole project was terminated on january 1, 1998. the battle scenes such as bitter street fighting in zhabei, contested battle, dare-to-die squad, machet squad, positional fighting and supporting the front composed the relieve wall, especially gave prominence to the image of general director mr. jiang guangnai and commander cai tingkai, the two men of the war against japanese. the relievo wall has a length of 46m, and height of 4.6m, the fragmentary portion of the wall represents the fragmented motherland at that time, the whole red wall incarnates the persevering spirit of the chinese nation.

the tomb of soldiers founded in1932 is located at the west of the mausoleum, with the full name of  “tomb for soldiers of nineteenth route army in the battle against japanese aggressor at north shanghai”. the tomb area is composed of the main monument and the tomb group with the floor area of 1187m2. 190 tombs composed the tomb group is arrayed in turn, the symbolic concrete coffin is smaller than that of the tomb of the officers. the main monument is at the western side, on which engraved with ”tomb for soldiers of nineteenth route army in the battle against japanese aggressor at north shanghai”, the inscription of mr. li jishen.

 “guangdong aviation monument” was erected in honor of the aero precursors of our country and the officers and soldiers of airforce fell in battles of eastern expedition, northern warfare and the war of resistance against japan.. in 1987, guangzhou municipal government decided to move the monument inside the mausoleum, the relocation was completed in march of the next year. the lower part of the monument stone was engraved with four characters, “aviation saves the nation”, the epigraph by mr. sun yat-sen.. the record of events inscribed on the monument said the names of 266 aero martyrs that died at their posts and for the country, such as mr. fengru, and etc.

the pavilion of resistance against japan located at the southernmost point of the axis of mausoleum, was built of granite. the three characters “kang ri ting (pavilion of resistance against japan)” were written by general daiji, guard commander at north shanghai. this pavilion was built in 1932, with the floor area of 120m2.

the length of axis of mausoleum is near 300m, and weight of 14m. along the axis to go north from the pavilion of resistance against japan, a superscription monument built of square cylinder granite can be seen in the middle of the axis, with the names of 1983 martyrs engraved around it. this monument is called “superscription monument for martyrs fell in the battle against japan”. it was constructed in 1932, with the height of 7.7m, and the floor area of 91m2. these 1983 martyrs were the heroes of sixtieth division, sixty-first division, seventy-eighth division and supplementary crops of first division fell in the battle against japanese aggressor at north shanghai at that year.

in order to carry forward the patriotism spirit of the chinese nation against the aggression from foreign enemies, guangzhou municipal government has invested rmb4.9 million for ten years since march, 1991 to refit and maintain the whole mausoleum in three lots. now, the renovated mausoleum has become the base for patriotism education, more solemn and severe. the maintenance monument was erected in april, 1999.

a building of european style at the eastern gate square of mausoleum is the memorial of martyrs. located at the south-east of the mausoleum was built in 932 with the floor area of 300 m2. it was used for worship of the spirits of the brave departed and for temporary rest at the beginning. in 1981, it was taken back as the exhibition hall for nineteenth route army. on the 70th anniversary day of resistance against japan at north shanghai at the beginning of 2002, guangzhou municipal government displayed the memorial of martyrs once again, and built the memorial plaza and the culture wall.

now, this memorial of martyrs of nineteenth route army in the battle against japanese aggressor at north shanghai uses the modern displaying method, increases and enriches the relics, makes the tourists have more understanding of the heroic deeds of the martyrs.

except the tomb of soldiers in the west, there are tombs of officers and of generals in the north-east of mausoleum. the tombs of officers and tombs of soldiers are located at the east and west side of the mausoleum respectively, and echo each other at a distance. the symbolic concrete coffins are arranged orderly. the full name of tomb of officers called “public cemetery for martyrs in the battle against japanese aggressors at north shanghai and other revolutionary operations” was built in 1932 with the floor area of 1875m2. the main mortuary monument is at the north of mausoleum while the other 202 tomb are located orderly, in which 22 were built of granite, with existing monument of 37 pieces. the characters “public cemetery for martyrs in the battle against japanese aggressors at north shanghai and other revolutionary operations” inscribed by mr. cai tingkai, the commander of nineteenth route army. the reverse of monument said “monument for officers of nineteenth route army fell in the battle against japanese aggressors” was inscribed by mr. cai tingkai himself, the record of this monument described how the officers  and soldiers of nineteenth route army defended the motherland and fought a bloody battle.

the tomb of generals is located at the east of the mausoleum, and the back of the tomb of officers, with the  floor area of 400m2. the bone ash of general jiang guangnai and cai tingkai was moved from beijing babaoshan revolutionary cemetery and buried here in 1997. the two gravestones were made of two natural granite with the weight of 25 tons each, with the epigraph “tomb of jiang guangnai” and “tomb of cai tingkai” inscribed on them.

a monument of martyrs is standing at the northmost section of the axis of this mausoleum, which was built in 1932, is also one of the major and representative buildings in this mausoleum.

with the height of 19.2m and floor area of 2298 m2, this cylinder monument built of granite in imitation of an ancient roman architectural style is especially imposing. “monument for martyrs of nineteenth route army in the battle against japanese aggressors at north shanghai” was engraved on the base of the monument, which was the inscription of mr. li jishen.; underside was written “mr. chen mingshu, garrison officer for beijing & shanghai, mr. jiang guangnai, general director of nineteenth route army, mr. cai tingkai, commander of nineteenth route army and mr. dai ji, safeguard commander of north shanghai raised this monument together on march 10, 21st year of republic of china.” 

a bronze soldier of nineteenth route army full of power and grandeur is standing on the cubic granite base of the monument with the height of 3.15 m, a musket on his shoulder and a timbal hat (bamboo hat) at his back. a pairs of bronze lions sitting on the steps in front of the statue, and eight bronze dings (three-legged ancient chinese cooking vessel) are arranged orderly on the stone balustrade surrounding and protecting the monument.

the original bronze statue (1), lions (2) and dings (8) were taken away by the japanese army in 1938 when guangzhou fell into the enemy’s hands. professor yin jichang of guangzhou sculpture institute reproduced according to the relevant records in 1991. actually, a bronze statue, 2 bronze lions and eight bronze dings are not coincidence of numbers, but used to commemorate the event against japanese aggressors at north shanghai on “january 28”.

a half-cylinder gallery of roman style was built at the back of monument, surrounded by 12 pairs of stone columns of ancient roman style. the door pavilions are at both sides of the gallery, with the full text of “monument for martyrs of nineteenth route army” written and inscribed by mr. lin shen in1933 on the left pavilion wall, while “monument of public cemetery of nineteenth route army”, the epigraph written and inscribed by mr. lin shen in march of 1933 was on the right.