The Monument to the People's Heroes (simplified Chinese: 人民英雄纪念碑; traditional Chinese: 人民英雄紀念碑; pinyin: Rénmín Yīngxíong Jĭnìanbēi), Beijing, is a ten-story obelisk that was erected as a national monument of the People's Republic of China. The Monument was built in memory of the martyrs who laid down their lives for the revolutionary struggles of the Chinese people during the 19th and 20th centuries. It was built in accordance with the resolution of the First Plenary Session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference adopted on November 30, 1949. The monument was designed by architect Liang Sicheng, with some elements designed by his wife, Lin Huiyin.
Sources differ on the height of the monument, with estimates ranging from 37.94 metres in height. It covers an area of 32,000 square feet (3,000 square metres).[citation needed]
The monument was constructed from August 1952 to May 1958 and is located to the north of Mao Zedong's mausoleum on the southern edge of Tiananmen Square.
The monument weighs over 10,000 metric tons and contains about 17,000 pieces of marble and granite from Qingdao, Shandong Province and Fangshan District outside Beijing.
On the pedestal of the tablet there are eight huge bas-relieves carved out of white marble covering the revolutionary episodes, which are depictions of Chinese struggle from the First Opium War in 1840 to the founding of the People's Republic in 1949. The relieves can be read in chronological order in a clockwise direction from the east: 1) Burning opium in the Opium War in 1840. 2) The Jintian Village Uprising in Taiping Revolution in 1851. 3) Wuchang Uprising (1911 Revolution). 4) May 4th Movement in 1919. 5) May 30 Movement in 1925. 6) Nanchang Uprising in 1927. 7) War of Resistance Against Japan between 1931 and 1945. 8) Crossing the Yangtze River Campaign, or Successful Crossing of the Yangtze River in 1949.
On the front of the monument there is an inscription in Mao Zedong's handwriting, which reads "Eternal glory to the people's heroes!"
On the back of the monument, there is a message which was drafted by Mao Zedong and written by Zhou Enlai: "Eternal glory to the heroes of the people who laid down their lives in the people's war of liberation and the people's revolution in the past three years! Eternal glory to the heroes of the people who laid down their lives in the people's war of liberation and the people's revolution in the past thirty years! Eternal glory to the heroes of the people who from 1840 laid down their lives in the many struggles against domestic and foreign enemies and for national independence and the freedom and well-being of the people!" (Note: the "past three years" refers roughly to the Chinese Liberation War (1946-1949); the "past thirty years" refers to the New Democratic Revolution from the May Fourth Movement in 1919 to the end of the revolution in 1949; and "from 1840" refers to the general struggle of the Chinese people against the various external and internal strife engulfing China from the beginning of the Opium Wars to the establishment of the People's Republic of China.
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Coordinates: 39°54′11″N 116°23′30″E / 39.90306°N 116.39167°E
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