Taierzhuang Memorial Hall and Commemorative Square

As hinted in a previous post, Taierzhuang is primarily known for a significant battle in the war against Japan. The Chinese triumph at the end of March / beginning of April 1938 was the first victory of the Chinese army in this war, dispelling the myth of the invincibility of the previously superior Japanese army and triggering a government crisis in Japan. In the old town, a square with small exhibition areas and a house ruin commemorates this event. However, outside the old town, there is a much larger memorial site: the Taierzhuang Battle Memorial Hall. Unfortunately, we only arrive there in the late afternoon, and the central multimedia presentation inside has already been closed since 3 PM. Nevertheless, we still have the other interesting exhibition rooms; for example, a wooden bridge that played a significant role in the battle has been reconstructed in the museum. Numerous handwritten records from military personnel provide a vivid testimony of the events. The battle also had a different political dimension, as Communists and Kuomintang fought together against the foreign enemy. This collaboration is captured in a painting featuring Zhou Enlai, Ye Jianying, and Bai Chongxi. Finally, the fate of the civilian population was highlighted, which in my opinion deserved more space. It is the people of Taierzhuang and the surrounding communities who bore the greatest burden of the war and endured immense suffering.
The defense of the nearby important ice rail junction in Xuzhou was indeed strategically significant, but even more important was that the victory made headlines, greatly boosting the courage and hope of the Chinese in their fight against the occupying power of Japan. Therefore, a significant exhibition area is dedicated to the journalists who, amid the chaos of war, produced reports for newspapers and propaganda and wrote novels and poems, among them is my own family member: Xie Binying. But photographers were also important chroniclers in an age without smartphones. A famous one was Robert Capa, who wrote about his experiences in Taierzhuang: 'There may be numerous places indicating the turning point of history – Waterloo, Gettysburg, Verdun. And today, there is another place, Tai'erzhuang.'