Chongqing People's Liberation Monument, Yuzhong, Chongqing
Located in the centre of a busy plaza in the city of Chongqing is the Chongqing People’s Liberation Monument. Originally built in 1946, the monument was erected to celebrate the victory over the Japanese in the Anti-Japanese War. Taking two years to build, the monument was inscribed with the words ‘Monument in Memory of the success of Anti-Japanese War’. It is rumored that a letter from President Roosevelt to the people of Chongqing is still within the walls of the monument.
Designed as an octagonal column and standing at about 27-metres tall, the monument received a name change in 1950 after the Chinese People’s Liberation Army occupied the city during the 1949 revolution. Observing the military marching before the monument, the chairman of the Southwestern Military and Political Commission, Liu Bocheng, decided to change the name to its current form.
Before the Liberation Monument was constructed, another monument stood in the exact same place. Built between 1940 and 1942, the ‘Spirit Fortress’ was erected to commemorate the death of Sun Yat-Sen. At almost eight-metres high, the wooden structure was painted black to avoid it being used as an air-raid target during the war. Unfortunately, this did not deter the Japanese bombers and the monument was destroyed sometime soon after.