Memorial Hall of the West Route Army of the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army

Memorial Hall of the West Route Army of the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army
中国工农红军西路军纪念馆

Address: No 178 Donghuan Lu, Gaotai county, Zhangye, Gansu province
Opening hours: 8:30 am-6 pm (last entry 5:30 pm)
Closed Mondays (except for national holidays)
General admission: Free
Tel: (+86-936) 6621048

In October 1936, soldiers from the Fourth Red Army crossed the Yellow River to the west to carry out the Ningxia Campaign program and create a base for resistance against the Japanese aggression in Northwest China. In November, the program was abandoned after consideration and the West Route Army was formed to establish revolutionary bases in the Hexi Corridor. Then the West Route Army advanced westward, occupying Yongchang county in Jinchang, Shandan, Linze, and Gaotai counties in Zhangye, Gansu province, which provoked a merciless counteroffensive and siege by local warlords. In January 1937, all the more than 2,000 soldiers of the West Route Army sacrificed their lives when fighting against enemies in Gaotai, including Dong Zhentang (1895-1937), commander of the Fifth Red Army, and Yang Keming (1905-37), director of the Political Department of the West Route Army.

The Memorial Hall of the West Route Army of the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army, established in 1957, was formerly the Gaotai Martyrs’ Cemetery. It is the most comprehensive and authoritative memorial hall in China dedicated to the history of the West Route Army, commemorating over 3,000 martyrs who died during the campaigns in the Hexi Corridor and the battle of Gaotai.

The museum is set from west to east along an axis whose layout resembles the digit seven. Major structures include the museum’s name plaque at the entrance with group sculptures, a “Heroic Battle of Gaotai” sculpture, a memorial stele, the Fifth Red Army Martyrs’ Cemetery, an exhibition hall, and memorial pavilions for Dong Zhentang and Yang Keming.

At the exhibition hall, a permanent exhibition Faith Above All, Blood Fortifies the Qilian Mountains tells the tragic and heroic story of the West Route Army’s journey through the Hexi Corridor in seven separate episodes, including “Crossing the Yellow River to the West and Carrying Out the Ningxia Campaign Program”, “Support for Hedong and Establishment of Yongchang and Shandan Revolutionary Bases”, “Waging Bloody Battles in Linze and Gaotai in Response to the Xi’an Incident”, and “The Spirit of the West Route Army Being Recorded in History”. Besides the Preface Hall and Martyrs’ Hall that create a solemn atmosphere through sculptures and informative displays of martyrs, the museum offers an immersive experience through a combination of multimedia dioramas, murals, statues, digital sand table, historical photographs, and video projections.