Yuexiu District Guangzhou Sun Yat-sen Monument

The Sun Yat-sen Monument is located on Yuejinggang Peak in Yuexiu Park, Hongqiao Subdistrict, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province. Designed by Lü Yanzhi, construction of the Sun Yat-sen Monument began in January 1929 and was completed in January 1930. The Sun Yat-sen Monument faces south and is 37m high with 13 stories. It consists of a square base on the first floor and a monument body above the base. The whole structure is made of granite and is shaped like a square pyramid, with a large bottom and a small top, and a four-sloped pointed roof. A granite stone is inlaid on the front of the monument, on which is engraved the "Will of the Prime Minister." The platform of the monument base is surrounded by stone railings, and the railing posts are carved with 26 sheep head stone sculptures, symbolizing Guangzhou, the City of Goats. The Sun Yat-sen Monument was built to commemorate Sun Yat-sen, the pioneer of the Chinese democratic revolution, "to create a permanent memorial with great architecture," and is a building to commemorate and remember the revolutionary spirit of Mr. Sun Yat-sen. The Sun Yat-sen Monument and the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall are a group of buildings on the same axis. They adopt the traditional method of central axis symmetry, forming a majestic momentum of the hall in front and the monument in the back. At the very front of the central axis is the main gate building. In the center of the general plan stands a bronze statue of Sun Yat-sen. Behind the bronze statue is the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, and at the rear end of the central axis is the towering Sun Yat-sen Monument on the top of Yuexiu Mountain. The whole building is majestic and well-arranged. The Sun Yat-sen Monument faces north and south, is 37m high, has 13 floors, and is made of granite. It is shaped like a square pyramid, with a large bottom and a small top, and a four-sloped pointed roof. The base on the first floor is square, engraved with the words "The Sun Yat-sen Monument was initiated and prepared by the Construction Committee, Li Jishen, etc. on January 15, the 18th year of the Republic of China" and "Architect Lü Yanzhi, contractor Lin Zuo." The base of the wall is enlarged in a curved shape, and the granite vault in the center is engraved with scroll patterns, and the bottom is decorated with a curved door tooth. The upper eaves are decorated with a band of moiré patterns, and the outer ring is surrounded by 26 stone sheep head statues, implying "Yangcheng" Guangzhou. A circle of stone railings is set around the outer contour of the top of the base, and the railing panels are exquisitely carved. There is a round arched door on the south side of the monument base to enter the monument. A spiral staircase leads to the top of the monument. The first and second floors can be overlooked from the railings, and the upper floors can be viewed from the windows. A granite stone is inlaid on the front of the monument, on which is engraved the "Will of the Prime Minister," and above it is engraved the Kuomintang party emblem of the Blue Sky and White Sun. The monument originally had a pointed top, but was struck by lightning. When it was repaired, it was changed to a slightly flat and pointed shape, and a lightning rod was installed. The will of Sun Yat-sen is engraved on the south side of the monument, written by calligrapher Wu Zifu.