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In Henan Province, Public Flows to Martyrs

Source:chinadaily.com.cn Published:2021-05-01 10:37

Tourists visit the Eyuwan revolutionary museum in Xinxian county of Xinyang, Henan province on Thursday to learn the history of the Communist Party of China. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/China Daily]

Ren Quansheng, 77, from Beijing, visited the grave of his mother at the Eyuwan martyrs' cemetery in Xinxian county of Xinyang, Henan province, on Thursday.

The county is his mother's hometown. As members of the Red Army, his parents had died supporting the revolution of the Communist Party of China.

The Eyuwan area, which comprises parts of Hubei, Henan and Anhui provinces, was the second-largest base of the Red Army in central China during the War of Liberation (1946-49).

During the war, about 55,000 of the 100,000 residents of the county died participating in the revolution. That means almost every family has a martyr. The average age of those who died was 28, said Li Zicheng, a docent at the cemetery.

Ren said he wanted to visit the place where his parents once lived and fought against imperialism and feudalism.

"I visited Xinxian five times — as early as 1986. And I found the color red does not fade a bit over the decades. Locals sacrificed themselves to support the CPC during the war and other difficult times, " he said.

Tourists visit the Eyuwan revolutionary museum in Xinxian county of Xinyang, Henan province on Thursday to learn the history of the Communist Party of China. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/China Daily]

The Eyuwan revolutionary museum near the cemetery exhibits 4,085 relics of martyrs, including weapons, clothes, documents and articles of daily use. More than 120 native people donated goods to the museum this year that the martyrs used, according to Yang Yusheng, the head of the museum.

It hosted 480,000 tourist visits from May to December last year, after it reopened following the coronavirus pandemic. This year, throngs of tourists have flowed into the museum to learn its lessons of history as the country welcomes the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC. Daily visits soared to a peak of 12,000.

Tourists wearing Red Army uniforms are commonly seen. Yang Zhen, a government worker in Red Army uniform from Zhoukou, Henan, said he and more than 30 colleagues visited the county as part of activities to learn the Party's history. He said he was impressed.

"Without their shedding of blood on the land we wouldn't have seen the new development of China," he said. "It inspires me to do my work better and learn the spirit of perseverance and dedication."

The county, with a population of 368,000 and an area of 1,612 square kilometers, is known as a base for soldiers. It is also a major site for Red education. Photos of some martyrs are displayed on guideposts along the street to honor their sacrifice for political beliefs.

Editor:Zhao Hanqing