Red Army Western Route Army Memorial Hall 中国工农红军西路军纪念馆

About Red Army Western Route Army Memorial Hall

The memorial stands in the south-east corner of the county town; the Zhangye municipal veterans affairs bureau gives its address as 178 Donghuan Road, Chengguan town. Its predecessor, the Gaotai Martyrs' Cemetery, holds the remains of nearly 3,000 people killed in the fighting at Gaotai, including the Red 5th Army commander Dong Zhentang and its political department head Yang Keming. The cemetery was completed in 1957 to commemorate the Red 5th Army soldiers killed there, and the site was formally renamed as the memorial hall in 2009. The two accounts cited here differ on the earlier steps: the municipal bureau dates the public initiative to 1951, while the provincial Party history site gives 1953.

The municipal bureau lists among the memorial's main structures the gate and its sculptural group, the 'Bloody Battle at Gaotai' heroic group sculpture, a monument, the fallen soldiers' cemetery, a first exhibition hall, a second exhibition room, a 廉政馆, memorial pavilions for Dong Zhentang and Yang Keming, a military-spirit square, and memorial groves for the Red 5th, 9th and 30th Armies. The site covers 198 mu, with a building area of 9,243 sq m of which 7,789 sq m is exhibition space. The Party history site gives the cemetery's original extent as 65 mu and records that it was expanded and rebuilt in 2008, adding an exhibition building of 3,662.17 sq m with 2,850 sq m of display area.

Inside, the exhibition building holds a prologue hall and eight exhibition halls — among them one named 血战高台 — plus a martyrs' hall. The memorial is a national key martyrs' memorial protection unit, and its designations include a national patriotism education demonstration base, a national defence education demonstration base, a national youth education base, one of the country's hundred classic red tourism sites and a national AAAA-grade tourist attraction.

What to look for

• The 'Bloody Battle at Gaotai' heroic group sculpture (血战高台英雄群雕)
• The fallen soldiers' cemetery (阵亡烈士公墓), where the remains of nearly 3,000 people are buried
• The memorial pavilions for Dong Zhentang and Yang Keming (董振堂纪念亭、杨克明纪念亭)
• The military-spirit square (军魂广场) and the memorial groves for the Red 5th, 9th and 30th Armies
• The exhibition building's prologue hall and its eight exhibition halls, among them 血战高台, together with the martyrs' hall

Location & getting there

Getting to Red Army Western Route Army Memorial Hall

Confirm the venue or campus, reservation channel and exhibition calendar. A museum name may cover more than one building.

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