Yuhuatai Martyrs' Cemetery

Yuhuatai Martyrs' Cemetery is situated outside the Zhonghua Gate in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province and built on a hillock, which is about 100 meters high and 3,500 meters long. Because of the abundant colorful pebbles here and the legend of ‘flowers fall from the heaven like the rain’ , the place was named ad Yuhuatai. However, the place became an execution ground where thousands of communists and patriots were killed by the Kuomintang reactionaries from 1927 to 1949. After the foundation of People’s Republic of China, the cemetery was built at Yuhuatai in honor of the martyrs in 1950.

Covering an area of 54.2 hectares, the cemetery is formulated by the main peak, Yuhuatai and five other hillocks. There is a pair of stone pillars with the height of 11.7 meters standing in front of the main gate, which symbolizing the way of the Russian October Revolution. Inside of the cemetery, there stands a spacious square and flower terraces. On the main peak there stands a 6.8-meter-high monument with the engravings: Long Live Revolutionary Martyrs, written by Mao Zedong. There is also an archway of ‘Revolutionary Martyrs Dying Place’ stands at the place where the martyrs were killed.

Legend

Yuhuatai was originally called Shizigang (hillock of small stones). It is said that during the Liang Dynasty (502-557) of the Southern Dynasty (420-589), when Buddhism was very popular, a master named Yunguang preached on the top of the hill regularly. And what he did moved the gods, who made the flowers fallen from the heaven just like the rain. So the place was named as Yuhuatai.

Highlights

A Giant Sculpture

A giant sculpture, with the height of 10.3 meters and the width of 14.2 meters, stands on the square. It was assembled by 179 pieces of granite and it is the biggest granite sculpture at present. The sculpture is composed of nine martyrs, which reveals the heroic image of the martyrs and represents the martyrs’s noble spirit and moral courage.

Memorial hall

Covering an area of 5,900 square meters and with the height of 26meters, the memorial hall is 90 meters from the east to the west and 49 meters from the south to the north. It is a modern building with the traditional style of roof. The outside wall and the floor are paved with granite, simple and solemn. The martyr’s relics and historical cultural relics are displayed in the hall.

Monument

The monument is 42.3 meters high, 7 meters wide and 5 meters thick. In front of the monument, there stands a bronze statue with the height of 5 meters. ‘Yuhua Tai martyrs monument’, which was written by Deng Xiaoping, was inscribed on the body of the monument.

Specialty

Yuhua stone and Yunhua tea are two most popular specialties in Nanjing. Yuhua stone,  a kind of agate,  has extremely rich color. Yunhua tea, good in color, aroma, taste and shape, is effective to quench thirsty, clear away heat and detoxify, make eye bright, lower blood pressure, etc.