The Jinjin City in the "May 3rd" Massacre

On May 3, 1928, in order to stop the Northern Expedition of the Northern Expedition, Japan carried out a surprise attack and brutal killing of the Northern Expeditionary Army and the citizens of Jinan, creating the "May 3rd" massacre in Jinan that shocked the world. Cai Gongshi, a special negotiator in Shandong, was cut off his ears and nose and shot. Dongliushui Street, located outside the West Gate, bore the brunt of this tragic history.

In April 1928, the Second Northern Expedition began. On the 21st, under the pretext of "protecting the overseas Chinese," the Japanese militarists sent three infantry squadrons stationed in Tianjin to Jinan, and then transported troops along the Jiaoji Railway to Jinan. By the 28th, the number of Japanese troops stationed in The Japanese army had reached more than 3,000. With Weisi Road as the central line, the Japanese army built fortifications, erected barricades, and imposed martial law.

On the 30th, the Feng warlord Zhang Zongchang withdrew from Jinan. On the morning of May 2, When Ruan Jimin, commander of the 23rd Regiment of the First Army of the Northern Expeditionary Army, and others were walking barefoot to Weiwu Road, they were intercepted by the Japanese army and all were killed.

On the morning of May 3, the Japanese concentrated fire to frantically bombard the area around the West Gate, and Chaoyang Street, Basket Street, Jiangjiachi Street, and Dongliushui Street were particularly tragic. The civilian population outside the city was brutally slashed by guns and bayonets, and for a time, the blood flowed into a river, and it was unbearable to see.

The West Gate Tower and the battlements of the city wall were blown into rubble by Japanese artillery fire, and the city was in a sea of fire, and the houses inside and outside the West Gate were also reduced to rubble.

On May 8, under the cover of artillery fire, the Japanese launched a fierce attack on the area around PuliMen, Linxiangmen, and Yongzhenmen, and the defenders retreated to the inner city. Since the 9th, the Japanese army has launched a large-scale attack on the inner city, and the defenders have fought bloodily, suffering heavy casualties.

The electric light company located in Dongliushui Street was hit by shells, the power generation equipment was destroyed, the power supply was stopped, and the Japanese army took the opportunity to occupy the electric light company.

Ignoring the spirit of international humanitarianism, the Japanese army rushed into the Shandong Guanban Chinese and Western Hospital on Jiangjiachi Street. The wounded soldiers in the hospital ignored the pain and joined hands with the medical staff to resist the Japanese army. In the end, more than 100 wounded soldiers and medical personnel in China were all killed, and all medical equipment was destroyed.

The atrocities committed by the Japanese army were inhumane and exterminated. According to the investigation of the Jinan Massacre Victims' Federation, the Chinese military and civilians died 6,123 people, injured more than 1,700 people, and suffered property losses of 29.57 million yuan. After the massacre, because the Chiang Kai-shek authorities pursued a policy of compromise with Japan, the tragedy was finally brought to an end.

In May 1929, the Jinan "May 3rd" Massacre Monument was erected outside the West Gate and the Luoyuan Bridge, and two tall signs were erected at the west gate, on which were written ten eye-catching characters in white on a blue background: "Did you hear me?" Did you see that?" This is a warning to the people of Jinan.

In 1986, the Jinan Municipal Government built the "May 3rd" Massacre Memorial Garden in the southern section of the West Moat and used it as a revolutionary education base to warn future generations to remember this tragic history.