 |
|
Xifeng
:
Reminder of a Heavy Page in History
Yanglangba, six kilometres out of the county seat of Xifeng, is a charming
place On a piece of flat land in the embrace of high mountains, lie lakes,
eaves and luxuriant forests Yet beyond the imagination of many, this scenic
spot was turned into a bloody killing field in the nid-20th century. |
| When the Kuomintang government retreated from Nanjing, which
was occupied by the Japanese in 1938,it moved a secret prison to Xifeng
in the suburbs of Guiyang, Nicknamed“University”, the Xifeng Concentration
Camp was a prison for important civilwar political criminals More than 1200people
were once kept in custody in this camp, and over 600 of them were either
executed or tortured to death, Among these victims, many were anti-Japanese
fighters and progressive youths, including some high-ranking leaders of
the Communist Party of China and the Kuomintang general Yang Hucheng His
wife and two children The place has now been turned into a museum In its
former investigation room, called the “Cat Cave”, the various facilities
used to torture the prisoners are displayed. |
|
 
 |
 
|
|
The cell Where General Yang Hucheng spent eight
years of his imprisoned life is actually a natural cave on the slope in
the middle section of South Wangshan Mountain. Called Xuantan Cave, it had
been a Taoist temple where Emperor Xuanwu, a Taoist god, was enshrined.
Yang, general commander of the 17th Route Army, was taken into custody by
Chiang Kai-shek because he initiated the Xi’an Incident together with General
Zhang Xueliang in 1936 to force him to stop the civil war and turn his guns
towards the Japanese invaders. General Yang, the other three imprisoned
members of the Yang family, and Yang’s secretary Song Qiyun were killed
by Chiang Kai-shek in Chongqing on September 17,1949. |
Today, except for the main hall, the other houses of Xuantian Cave have
been restored to their original state when General Yang was imprisoned there,
On display are photos of the Yang family and items used by them. |
|
   |
