Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression

Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression
中国人民抗日战争纪念馆
Established 1987
Location 101 Chengnei St Fengtai District, Beijing
Coordinates 39°51′08″N 116°13′33″E / 39.852276°N 116.225807°E / 39.852276; 116.225807Coordinates: 39°51′08″N 116°13′33″E / 39.852276°N 116.225807°E / 39.852276; 116.225807

The Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (simplified Chinese: 中国人民抗日战争纪念馆; traditional Chinese: 中國人民抗日戰爭紀念館; pinyin: zhōng guó rén mín kàng rì zhàn zhēng jì niàn guǎn) or Chinese People's Anti-Japanese War Memorial Hall is a museum and memorial hall in Beijing. It is the most comprehensive museum in China about the Sino-Japanese War.

The museum is located inside the Wanping Fortress near the Lu Gou Bridge (Marco Polo Bridge) in Beijing's Fengtai District, where the Japanese army waged the invading war. It was opened on the 50th anniversary of the outbreak of Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1987.[1]

Since its opening up 1987, it has undergone three major and several smaller renovation in terms of the exhibits, the biggest of which was finished in 2005. A significant number of highly technological and scientific facilities have been added gradually, such as multimedia displays and video players.[2] The museum both aims at domestic and foreign visitors and has had several exhibitions outside China over the years.[3]

Origin and history

Supported by the Chinese Communist Party and the national leaders, the organization committee of the Chinese People's Anti-Japanese Memorial Hall was founded in October 1984. Almost 3 years later, on 7 July 1987, the memorial hall was completed and opened to the public on the 50th anniversary of the outbreak of Chinese Anti-Japanese War. Deng Xiaoping (Chinese: 邓小平), the then Chinese leader, performed the official opening. On July 7, 1997, the second phase of the project was finished. Jiang Zemin (Chinese: 江泽民), the General Secretary of the Communist Party at that time personally inscribed a slogan for it. On July 7, 2005, a large-scale exhibition named "Great Victory" was inaugurated.[4]

Since it was founded in 1987, the museum has undergone many developments and took up a new look gradually, especially after its largest renovation in 2005. During the course of its development, this museum has been expanded from 1,320 sq. meters to more than 6000 sq. meters.[5]

Layout of the hall

In the central of the step of the memorial's first floor, an over 2 meters high sculpture called "Awaken Lion".

The facade large-scale embossment "impregnable fortress" reflects the Chinese army and people to build up an indestructible steel great wall with their flesh and blood.

The two east and west halls exhibit lots of historic cultural relics, valuable documents and photos of the whole Chinese people to the Japanese army under the guidance of China Communist Party's "National United Front to Anti-Japanese Aggression" principle. Among which, there are the achievement of the Kuomintang Army in the frontal war field and of the patriotic generals. The length of semi-view painting hall from east to west is 40 meters, and the width from south to north is 20 meters, while its net height is 18.5 meters. It adopts a large curtain with the visual field in the width of 1800, and with the length of 48 meters, width of 18.5, and in the forms of the lamp light, sound, film and slide show to reappear the actual situation of the Chinese army and people tough beat back of the Japanese aggressors in Lu Gou Bridge.

Collections

In the museum

The Hall of the Lugou Qiao Incident was opened on July 7, 1988. It is the first art hall which represents the Sino-Japanese War that employs techniques of painting, sculpture, magic lantern and acoustics to exhibit the theme. The hall, with a semicircle screen of 16.5 meters high and 50 meters long, plays documentaries of the Lugou Incident.


The exhibition halls of the museum also display some inscriptions from celebrities and some print, cartoons and picture posters of the Anti-Japanese War period.[6]

An exhibition named "Final Victory in the Anti-Japanese War"

The year of 2005 marks the 60th anniversary of the victory of Sino-Japanese War (Chinese: 中国抗日战争) as well as the world anti-fascist war. In February, 2005 the central government of China arranged series of memorial activities, to which the large-scale exhibition carried out in Chinese People's Anti-Japanese Memorial Hall, served as a significant prelude. Organized and supported by 8 departments of the central government and PLA, the exhibition kept the demands proposed by the CPC General Secretary Hu Jintao as its guiding doctrine, that is "Chinese people should cherish peace, work convertedly to create a bright future, while keeping the history in mind." Covering an area of 6346.6 sq.m., the exhibition consists of 8 sections, each of which concentrates on and puts emphasis on different phrases of Chinese People's Anti-Japanese war:

Based on the lasting achievements of the research on the Chinese People's Anti-Japanese war, the exhibition demonstrated a great number of exhibits of various types, including 587 valuable photographys characterised by high definition, over 830 pieces of important relics, 22 groups of sculptures,14 pieces of oil paintings,10 scenes imitating the war and 165 pieces of assistubg exhibits. All of them, working together, show the Chinese actions during the Sino-Japanese War,in a comprehensive and objective way, sheds light on the historic meaning and crucial position of Chinese People's Anti-Japanese war in the world anti-fascist war. It also highlights the main function displayed by CCP in the war.

Transport connections

The museum is located inside the Wanping Fortress, near the Marco Polo bridge - the site of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident which brought the war from Manchuria into China proper. The fortress is situated in Beijing's southwestern Fengtai District.

The bus stop serving the fortress and the museum is called the Garden of sculptures of Sino-Japanese War. It is accessible by bus No. 624, 693, 983 from Wukesong Station and bus No. 301, 309, 339, 661, 662, 715 from Liuliqiao Station.

Important visitors

References

  1. ↑ Zhao Yanchen. "The Chinese People's Anti-Japanese Aggression War Memorial Hall". China Central Television. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  2. ↑ http://www.1937china.org.cn/data/html/chinese/channel_111.html
  3. ↑ 中国人民抗日战争纪念馆简介. China Central Television (in Chinese). 22 September 2008. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  4. ↑ 《带你走进博物馆：中国人民抗日战争纪念馆》
  5. ↑ 《中国人民抗日战争纪念馆》
  6. ↑ http://www.chinaculture.org/library/2008-01/18/content_30634.html

External links

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