   #copyright

Defense of Sihang Warehouse

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Military History and War

   Defense of Sihang Warehouse
   Part of the Battle of Shanghai in
   the Second Sino-Japanese War
   A painting of the Defense commissioned by the Nationalist government

     Date   26 October – 1 November 1937
   Location Zhabei, Shanghai, Republic of China
    Result  Chinese victory
   Combatants

         524th Regiment, 88th Division, National Revolutionary Army

                    3rd Division, Imperial Japanese Army

   Commanders
   Xie Jinyuan Iwane Matsui
   Strength
   414 men including 16 officers Unknown, but far more than the Chinese
   Casualties
   27 wounded, 10 killed More than 200 killed
                          Second Sino-Japanese War
   Major engagements in bold
   Mukden - Invasion of Manchuria -( Jiangqiao - Nenjiang Bridge -
   Chinchow - Harbin) - Shanghai (1932) - Operation Nekka - ( Rehe - Great
   Wall) - Suiyuan - Marco Polo Bridge - Beiping-Tianjin - Chahar -
   Shanghai (1937) (Sihang Warehouse) - Beiping-Hankou Railway -
   Tianjin-Pukou Railway - Taiyuan - ( Pingxingguan) - Xinkou - Nanjing -
   Xuzhou- Taierzhuang - N.-E.Henan - ( Lanfeng) - ( Amoy) - Wuhan -
   Canton - ( Hainan) - ( Xiushui River) - Nanchang - Suixian-Zaoyang - (
   Swatow) - 1st Changsha - S.Guangxi- ( Kunlun Pass) - Winter Offensive
   -( Wuyuan) - S.Henan - Zaoyang-Yichang - Hundred Regiments - Indochina
   Expedition - Shanggao - S.Shanxi - 2nd Changsha - 3rd Changsha -
   Yunnan-Burma Road-( Yenangyaung)- Zhejiang-Jiangxi - W.Hubei -
   N.Burma-W.Yunnan - Changde - C.Henan - 4th Changsha - Guilin-Liuzhou -
   W.Henan-N.Hubei - W.Hunan- 2nd Guangxi
   edit

   The Defense of Sihang Warehouse ( Traditional Chinese: 四行倉庫保衛戰;
   Simplified Chinese: 四行仓库保卫战, pinyin: Sìháng Cāngkù Bǎowèi Zhàn) took
   place from 26 October to 1 November 1937, and marked the beginning of
   the end of the three-month Battle of Shanghai in the opening phase of
   the Second Sino-Japanese War. The defenders of the warehouse, popularly
   known as the Eight Hundred Heroes ( Traditional Chinese: 八百壯士;
   Simplified Chinese: 八百壮士, pinyin: Bābǎi Zhùangshì) or the Lone
   Battalion, held out against numerous waves of Japanese forces and
   covered the movements of the Chinese forces retreating west during the
   Battle of Shanghai. The successful defense of the warehouse provided a
   morale-lifting consolation to the Chinese army and people in the
   demoralizing aftermath of the Japanese invasion of Shanghai. The
   warehouse's location just across the Suzhou River from the foreign
   concessions in Shanghai meant the battle took place in full view of the
   western powers. This drew the attention, if only briefly, of the
   international community to Chiang Kai-shek's bid for worldwide support
   against Japanese aggression.

Background

   Blue: Garrisoned by NRA troops Red: Garrisoned by IJA troops Green:
   Foreign concessions
   Enlarge
     * Blue: Garrisoned by NRA troops
     * Red: Garrisoned by IJA troops
     * Green: Foreign concessions

   Using the Marco Polo Bridge Incident as the pretext, Japan launched an
   invasion of China on 7 July 1937. As the Imperial Japanese Army swept
   down from the north, fighting between Chinese and Japanese forces
   started in Shanghai on 13 August. Despite having logistical problems,
   inferior training, and a lack of air and artillery support, the Chinese
   held on to Shanghai City, much of it reduced to ruins. The Japanese,
   however, did not attack the foreign concessions and remained on
   peaceable terms, though there was pressure on both sides. They would
   not occupy the concessions until four years later, following Japan's
   decision to go to war with the Allies.

   By 26 October 1937, Chinese resistance in the district of Zhabei was
   faltering. Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek wanted to withdraw all forces
   in the area to defend the rural western regions of Shanghai, and
   ordered Gu Zhutong (顾祝同), acting commander of the 3rd Military Region,
   to leave the 88th Division behind to buy time and canvass international
   support by showing the other powers of the Nine Powers, convening on 6
   November, China's determination to resist the Japanese war of
   aggression. Gu was personally attached to the 88th and unwilling to
   leave the division behind, as he was the commander of the 2nd Division,
   which became the 88th after reorganisation. He telegraphed the 88th's
   divisional commander Sun Yuanliang (孙元良), who vehemently opposed this
   plan and sent his chief of staff Zhang Boting (张柏亭) to Gu's
   Headquarters, about 20 km from the frontlines, to argue against it.

   Neither Gu, Sun nor Zhang were about to disobey Chiang's orders, but
   Sun (via Zhang) suggested to Gu that the number of troops left to cover
   the withdrawal would not matter for such a show of determination. In
   his words, "It would achieve the same purpose no matter how many people
   we sacrifice." He proposed that a single regiment be left behind to
   defend one or two fortified positions, and Gu approved the plan. Zhang
   returned to the 88th's divisional headquarters at Sihang Warehouse.
   Back at the headquarters, Sun decided that even a regiment would be a
   terrible waste of lives and decided on a single over-strength battalion
   instead. Xie Jinyuan, a relatively new commander to the 88th Division,
   volunteered to lead the battalion.

   At 10 p.m. on 26 October, the 524th Regiment, based at the Shanghai
   North Railway Station, received orders to withdraw to the divisional
   headquarters at Sihang Warehouse. 1st Battalion commander Yang Ruifu
   was distraught at having to abandon a position he had held for more
   than two months, but agreed to do so after being shown Sun's orders for
   the 1st Battalion to defend Sihang Warehouse.

   The warehouse, known also as the Chinese Mint Godown by those from the
   concessions, is a six-story concrete building situated in Zhabei
   District north of Suzhou Creek, at the north-western edge of New Lese
   Bridge (now North Tibet Road Bridge). Built jointly by four banks —
   hence the name Sihang (literally, Four Banks) — in 1931, it sits on a
   0.3- acre (0.12  ha) plot of land, with an area of 20,700 square metres
   (222,800  sq ft), 64 metres (210  ft) wide by 54 metres (177 ft) long,
   and 25 metres (82 ft) high, making it one of the tallest buildings in
   the area. The warehouse, used as the divisional headquarters of the
   88th Division prior to the battle, was stocked with food, first aid
   equipment, shells and ammunition.
   Xie Jinyuan
   Enlarge
   Xie Jinyuan

Order of battle and equipment

National Revolutionary Army

     * 524th Regiment, 88th Division - Regimental commander, Army
       Lieutenant Colonel Xie Jinyuan

          + Regimental commander, Army Major Shangguan Zhibiao (上官志标)

               o 1st Battalion, 524th Regiment - Battalion Commander, Army
                 Major Yang Ruifu (杨瑞符)

                    # 1st Company, 1st Battalion - Company commander, Army
                      Captain Tao Xingchun (陶杏春)
                    # 2nd Company, 1st Battalion - Company commander, Army
                      Captain Deng Ying (邓英)
                    # 3rd Company, 1st Battalion - Company commander, Army
                      Captain Shi Meihao (石美豪, wounded), Army Captain Tang
                      Di (唐棣)
                    # Machine Gun Company, 1st Battalion - Company
                      commander, Army Captain Lei Xiong (雷雄)

   Initially containing around 800 men, it was technically an
   over-strength battalion, but casualties suffered over the course of the
   war made it actually below strength, at 423 men, including officers. As
   a further reduction in strength, only 414 were present during the
   battle. Some sources give 453 as the paper strength of the battalion,
   and due to the confusion of the general retreat, it is possible some
   groups failed to make it to the battle. Two months of intense fighting
   had also whittled down the original German-trained troops, and after
   five reinforcements, the majority of soldiers and officers in the
   battalion were garrison troops from the surrounding provinces. Most of
   the men were from the 1st Battalion, 5th Regiment of the Hubei
   Provincial Garrison. Hubei also did not want to send its well-trained
   troops, built over a decade to fight against the Chinese Communists, to
   Shanghai. Thus ultimately many of the soldiers sent as reinforcements
   to Shanghai were green recruits, with the latest batch recruited after
   the outbreak of war on 7 July. Though the 1st Battalion was not the
   only battalion in the 524th, it was by far the most famous after the
   battle. Eventually the 1st came to be equated with the 524th, even
   within official documents of the period.
   Defenders with M1935 helmets and ZB vz.26 Light machine guns
   Enlarge
   Defenders with M1935 helmets and ZB vz.26 Light machine guns

   The regiment was assigned used equipment from the front-line troops of
   the 88th. Photos and records show that every soldier was issued a
   rifle, likely a Gewehr 88 or Gewehr 98, 300 rounds of 8 mm Mauser, two
   crates of grenades, a German-made M1935 helmet, a gas mask, and food
   pouch. There were a total of 27 light machine guns, mostly of the Czech
   ZB vz.26, approximately one for each squad. The four water-cooled Type
   24 Maxim guns were the only heavy weapons available to the regiment — a
   mortar platoon assigned to them was never mentioned by participants of
   the battle, and was therefore unlikely to have joined the battle.

Imperial Japanese Army

     * Shanghai Expeditionary Force - General Iwane Matsui

          + 3rd Division

   The Japanese 3rd Division (the most elite IJA division at the time) had
   access to armoured vehicles, likely Type 94 Te-Ke tankettes, and also
   Type 89 mortar teams. Japanese infantry used the Arisaka Type 38 Rifle.
   The Shanghai North Railway Station, after months of fighting and
   bombing
   Enlarge
   The Shanghai North Railway Station, after months of fighting and
   bombing

27 October

   The various companies of the battalion were spread out across the front
   lines that night. Yang Ruifu sent the 1st Company to Sihang Warehouse
   and personally led the 2nd Company. The 3rd Company, Machine Gun
   Company and part of the 1st Company could not be contacted. What
   initially seemed a disastrous start to the defence was averted at nine
   in the morning, when these companies turned up at the warehouse, having
   heard the orders through word of mouth from other forces that had
   retreated from Zhabei. That these men essentially volunteered for this
   suicidal mission was later noted by Chiang Kai-shek as exemplary
   soldierly conduct.

   In early morning, news circulated throughout Shanghai that there were
   still Chinese forces defending Zhabei at Sihang Warehouse. This piqued
   the interest of Girl Guide Yang Huimin, who would later play a large
   part in this battle. At around 4 a.m. she walked to the British guard
   post at the Chinese end of New Lese Bridge, where she noticed the
   British soldier throwing a pack of cigarettes into the warehouse. She
   asked the soldier what he was doing, and he answered that there were
   Chinese soldiers inside. She wrote a message and asked the British
   soldier to stuff it in a pack of cigarettes and throw it over. After a
   while a message was thrown back saying that the soldiers in the
   warehouse wanted food, ammunition and lubricant for their firearms.
   Yang Huimin left the bridge and pleaded with the head of the Shanghai
   Chamber of Commerce, who initially did not believe her story, much to
   her frustration.
   Defenders in position on the roof of the warehouse
   Enlarge
   Defenders in position on the roof of the warehouse

   Xie deployed the 1st Company on the right side of the warehouse along
   Tibet Road, the 3rd Company on the left across from the Bank of
   Communications building, and the 2nd Company on the other sides. Two
   heavy machine guns were installed on the roof, and the other machine
   guns were spread out to each company. Xie noted that the fortifications
   built by the Nationalist Army before the war in preparation against a
   European attack from the foreign concessions could be used by the
   Japanese against the warehouse. Therefore, he rigged these
   fortifications with explosives in case the Japanese tried to occupy
   them.

   Makeshift defences were constructed from sandbags and the sacks of
   corn, beans, and other merchandise stocked within the warehouse. The
   electric lights in the warehouse were destroyed, and some of the
   immediate surrounding buildings were razed to clear a killing field.

   By 7 a.m. the Japanese 3rd Division had moved to the Shanghai North
   Railway Station, and by 1 p.m. they had reached the general vicinity of
   the warehouse. A dozen Japanese soldiers tried to secure the rigged
   fortifications and were promptly killed. At 2 p.m. a group of Chinese
   reconnaissance troops, led by Platoon leader Yin Qiucheng (尹求成),
   exchanged fire with around fifty Japanese soldiers. A short while
   after, a Japanese company attacked the warehouse from the west, and 3rd
   Company commander Shi Meihao was shot in the face but continued to
   command the defence until he was shot again in the leg. About seventy
   Japanese soldiers had taken cover in a blind spot at the south-west of
   the warehouse, and some Chinese troops climbed on the roof and threw
   grenades down at the Japanese. They reported seven Japanese killed and
   about twenty wounded. Having failed their first assault, the Japanese
   set fire to the north-west section of the warehouse, which stored fuel
   and wood. It was put out by 5 p.m. In their wake the Japanese looted
   and burned Zhabei.

   At 9 p.m. Yang Ruifu concluded that there would be no more Japanese
   attacks for the day, and ordered meals to be prepared and
   fortifications repaired. Two defenders were killed and four wounded on
   this day.

28 October

   The defenders rushed to construct fortifications during the night;
   nobody was given any sleep. In the morning Xie called with the Shanghai
   Chamber of Commerce, whose telephone number was provided by Yang
   Huimin.
   British officers watching the battle at Sihang Warehouse
   Enlarge
   British officers watching the battle at Sihang Warehouse

   The location of the warehouse, chosen mainly for its sturdy structure
   and availability (already a divisional headquarters), turned out to be
   a fortunate one for the defenders. It was across from the foreign
   concessions in Shanghai, and the Japanese did not dare to call
   artillery strikes on the area, since a stray shot might land in the
   concessions and provoke an incident with the Europeans and Americans,
   whom the Japanese wanted to keep out of the war. Moreover, the Japanese
   dared not use mustard gas here as they did elsewhere in Shanghai, in
   full view of the foreign powers.

   At 7 a.m. a flight of Japanese bombers circled the warehouse, but did
   not drop any bombs in fear of hitting the concessions. After
   anti-aircraft fire by the defenders, they flew away from the battle.

   At 8 a.m. Xie gave a pep talk to the defenders and inspected the
   defences constructed by the soldiers. While on the roof, he noticed a
   group of Japanese soldiers along the Suzhou River, which according to
   Yang Ruifu's memoirs was some 1 kilometre (1,100  yd) away. Xie grabbed
   a rifle and shot; one of them promptly fell.
   West side of the Sihang Warehouse, riddled with bullet and artillery
   holes. The New Lese Bridge is to the right of main building.
   Enlarge
   West side of the Sihang Warehouse, riddled with bullet and artillery
   holes. The New Lese Bridge is to the right of main building.

   It started to drizzle around 3 p.m., and the fire and screen of smoke
   around the warehouse were gradually extinguished. The Japanese launched
   another major attack concentrated in the west, occupying the Bank of
   Communications building, and deployed cannons to the north of the
   warehouse. The cannons were unable to damage the thickly sandbagged
   walls of the warehouse, and Japanese troops in the bank building were
   easily suppressed by the defenders on the roof of the warehouse, who
   had a higher vantage point. After two hours the Japanese gave up the
   attack, but managed to cut electricity and water to the warehouse.

   Some time in the day, a small group of Chinese soldiers led by
   regimental commander Shangguan Zhibiao and battalion field surgeon Tang
   Pinzi (汤聘梓) arrived and joined the battle.

   Meanwhile, the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce was overjoyed at the news
   of Chinese defenders left in Zhabei, and news of this spread quickly
   through radio. Crowds gathered on the southern bank of the Suzhou River
   in the rain, cheering the defenders on. More than ten truckloads of aid
   were donated by Shanghai's citizens. At night the trucks drove near the
   warehouse, and the defenders constructed a sandbag wall to the trucks,
   and then dragged the supplies into the warehouse. The unloading of
   supplies took four hours, and three soldiers were killed by Japanese
   fire. The defenders received food, fruits, clothing, utensils and
   letters from the citizens. A couple of journalists arrived at the
   scene, but the commanding officers were busy, and the journalists ended
   up only meeting Lei Xiong, the Machine Gun Company commander.
   Yang Huimin with the ROC flag
   Enlarge
   Yang Huimin with the ROC flag

   Xie arranged with the British officers, via the Chamber of Commerce, to
   transport around ten wounded soldiers from the battle. The British
   agreed, and the wounded were carried off under the cover of darkness.

   The same night, the Chamber of Commerce decided to send the soldiers a
   flag of the Republic of China. Regiment-sized Chinese units did not
   carry army or national flags during the war, so when Yang Huimin
   delivered the flag to the warehouse, Xie had to personally accept the
   flag as the highest-ranking officer. Yang Huimin asked for the
   soldiers' plans, to which the answer "Defend to the death!" was given.
   Yang Huimin, moved, asked for a list of all the soldiers' names to
   announce to the entire country. Xie could not give a list, of course.
   Doing so would inform the Japanese of their real strength. Instead, he
   asked someone to write down around 800 names from the original roster
   of the 524th Regiment, and this fake name list was given to Yang
   Huimin. According to Yang Ruifu, the wounded soldiers sent out earlier
   that night were also ordered to say 800 if questioned. Thus the story
   of the 800 Heroes spread.
   Chinese civilians watching the flag-raising at Sihang Warehouse
   Enlarge
   Chinese civilians watching the flag-raising at Sihang Warehouse

29 October

   In the early morning of 29 October, residents of Shanghai found a 12-
   foot-wide (4.0 m) flag of the Republic of China flying atop Sihang
   warehouse. Yang Huimin only brought the flag, and the defenders did not
   have a flag pole in the warehouse. Therefore, the flag was hoisted on a
   makeshift pole made of two bamboo culms tied together. In the
   warehouse, only a small group of soldiers attended the flag-raising
   ceremony. The crowd gathered across the river, reportedly thirty
   thousand strong, was jubilant, shouting "Long live the Republic of
   China!" while the Japanese were furious and sent aircraft to attack the
   flag. Due to heavy anti-aircraft fire and fear of hitting the foreign
   concessions, the planes soon left without destroying the flag.
   Meanwhile, two days of fighting had damaged or destroyed many field
   fortifications around the warehouse, and the warehouse itself was also
   damaged.

   At noon the Japanese mounted their largest offensive thus far.
   Attacking from all directions with cannon fire and tankettes, they
   pushed the 3rd Company out of their defensive line at the base of the
   warehouse and forced the 3rd into the warehouse itself. The west side
   of the warehouse originally lacked windows (as can be seen from the
   photos above), but the Japanese attacks conveniently opened up firing
   holes for the defenders. A group of Japanese soldiers tried to scale
   the walls to the second floor with ladders, and Xie just happened to be
   at the window they appeared from. He grabbed the first Japanese
   soldier's rifle, choked him with the other hand, pushed him off, and
   finally shot another Japanese soldier on the ladder before pushing the
   ladder off. Also, a private, traumatised by the battle, jumped off the
   building while strapped with grenades and took out some twenty Japanese
   soldiers in exchange for his own life. The battle lasted until dark,
   with Japanese attacks now supported by armoured vehicles and cannon
   fire. Finally, after all else had failed, they used an excavator and
   tried to dig a tunnel towards the warehouse. During this day's battle,
   Chinese citizens across the river helped the soldiers by writing on big
   posters, warning of the Japanese army's actions. One individual even
   telephoned the warehouse after witnessing the Japanese preparing a new
   attack.

30 October to 1 November

   The Japanese launched a new wave of attack at 7 a.m. on the 30th. There
   were fewer infantry assaults at the warehouse this time; the Japanese
   attack was mainly concentrated cannon fire. Because of the sturdy
   construction and the abundance of sandbags and materials with which to
   fortify and mend the warehouse, the defenders simply repaired the
   warehouse while the Japanese tried to destroy it. Cannon fire was so
   rapid, recalled Yang Ruifu, that there was approximately one shell
   every second. When night approached, the Japanese deployed several
   floodlights to illuminate the warehouse for their artillery to strike
   at. The battle on the 30th lasted the whole day, and the defenders
   destroyed and damaged several armoured cars.

   The foreigners in the concessions in Shanghai did not want the site of
   combat to be so close to them. Thus faced with pressure from the
   Japanese, they agreed to try to convince the Chinese to cease
   resisting. On the 29th the foreigners submitted a petition to the
   National Government to stop the fighting "for humanitarian concerns".
   To Chiang, the battle was already won as most of the Chinese forces in
   Shanghai had successfully been redeployed to defend more favourable
   positions, and the defence of the warehouse now had the attention of
   the western world, so he gave the go-ahead for the regiment to retreat
   on 31 October. A meeting was arranged with the British general
   Telfer-Smollett, and it was decided the 524th would retreat to the
   foreign concessions and then rejoin the rest of the 88th Division,
   which had been fighting in west Shanghai. The Japanese commander Matsui
   Iwane also agreed and promised to let the defenders retreat. Xie, on
   the other hand, wanted to remain in the warehouse and fight to the last
   man. Zhang Boting finally convinced Xie to retreat.

   At midnight, 1 November, Xie led 376 men towards the British
   concession. The Japanese, meanwhile, reneged on their deal and opened
   fire on the retreating defenders. About ten soldiers were wounded by
   Japanese machine gun fire. The Japanese also started shelling New Lese
   Bridge, which connected the warehouse to the foreign concessions. By 2
   a.m. the retreat was complete.
   Xie Jinyuan and four of his subordinates while imprisoned
   Enlarge
   Xie Jinyuan and four of his subordinates while imprisoned

Aftermath

   After the retreat the remaining soldiers set forth to regroup with the
   rest of the 88th Division. However, British troops seized all their
   weapons and placed the soldiers under arrest. The reason was that the
   Japanese threatened to invade the concessions if the soldiers were
   allowed to leave the area. They were herded into the Italian area of
   the concessions and fenced off.

   Chiang Kai-shek promoted every defender by a rank and awarded Xie the
   Order of Blue Sky and White Sun.

   After their incarceration, citizens of Shanghai would often visit the
   troops, giving them performances and entertainment. The officers opened
   classes for the soldiers, teaching foreign languages, mathematics, and
   even Christian theology. Chen Daowang, the Chinese translator of the
   Communist Manifesto, would also visit the camp from time to time. The
   soldiers spent their day doing military drills and kept their fighting
   spirit high. Their practice of singing the National Anthem of the
   Republic of China every day was continuously disrupted by the foreign
   authorities, until it was violently put down by White Russian
   mercenaries.
   A photo of the warehouse taken after the battle. Note the flag still
   flying over the warehouse.
   Enlarge
   A photo of the warehouse taken after the battle. Note the flag still
   flying over the warehouse.

   Faced with defeat in the Battle of Shanghai and the loss of a third of
   the National Revolutionary Army's best-trained troops, the failed but
   morale-boosting defence of Shanghai proved to the Chinese people and
   foreign powers alike that China was actively resisting the Japanese.
   The media capitalised on the defence of the warehouse and lauded the
   Eight Hundred Heroes, embellished from the original 414, as national
   heroes, and a patriotic song was also composed to encourage the people
   to resist Japanese aggression. However, the foreign aid that Chiang
   tried to canvass for did not arrive; none of the European powers
   delivered anything more than verbal condemnation of Japan. Only Germany
   and the Soviet Union provided substantial aid to China before the
   outbreak of war in Europe, and Germany withdrew its advisors soon after
   due to Japanese pressure.

   Within the "Lost Battalion Barracks", the Heroes languished for more
   than three years. The Japanese had offered to free the soldiers, but
   only if they disarmed and left Shanghai as refugees. Xie did not agree
   to these terms, and after refusing numerous offers from Wang Jingwei's
   collaborationist government, Xie Jinyuan was assassinated on 24 April
   1941 at 5 a.m. by Sergeant He Dingcheng and three others of his own
   troops, who were bought over by Wang Jingwei's government. He died at 6
   a.m. More than 100,000 people turned up for his funeral, and he was
   posthumously made a brigadier general of the National Revolutionary
   Army.

   After the Pearl Harbour attack, Japanese forces occupied the foreign
   concessions and captured the soldiers. They were shipped off to
   Hangzhou and Xiaolingwei to do hard labour. Part of the group sent to
   Xiaolingwei escaped, and some rejoined the Chinese forces. Thirty-six
   officers were sent to Papua New Guinea to do hard labour, and in 1945
   when the war went against Japan, they overpowered their captors and
   took them prisoners instead.

   At the end of the war, some one hundred survivors of the battalion
   returned to Shanghai and Sihang Warehouse. When the Chinese Civil War
   broke out, most of them wanted to fight no more and returned to
   civilian occupations. Later, some of them, including Girl Guide Yang
   Huimin, retreated to Taiwan with the Kuomintang government, while some
   of those who remained were persecuted in the Cultural Revolution
   because they were Kuomintang soldiers.

Legacy

   Xie Jinyuan's body was interred in a small garden along Singapore Road
   (now Yao Road) where his bunk used to be. In 1947 the Shanghai city
   government renamed Jiaoyuan Park (where the soldiers lived) as Jinyuan
   Park, and renamed an elementary school in the vicinity 12th District
   Jinyuan National Elementary School. The road to the immediate north of
   the warehouse was renamed Jinyuan Road.

   On 16 April 1983, Xie's grave was moved to the Wanguo Public Mausoleum.
   In the same year, the barracks area was rebuilt and named Jinyuan
   Alley. In March 1986 the city council of Xie's hometown, Jiaoling,
   Guangdong, set up a monument in his honour, and his alma mater Jiankeng
   Elementary School was renamed Jinyuan Elementary School.
   A half-length statue of Lt Gen. Xie Jinyuan in the Sihang Warehouse
   museum
   Enlarge
   A half-length statue of Lt Gen. Xie Jinyuan in the Sihang Warehouse
   museum

   The Sihang Warehouse is still standing, and part of it is now a
   repository of documents, photos and journals during the Battle of
   Shanghai. Most of the warehouse is still what it was meant to be — a
   furniture warehouse — and there is even a bowling alley on the third
   floor. The exhibition room is open every Friday 1:30–4:00 p.m.

   The actions of The Eight Hundred Heroes were made into a 1938 movie of
   the same name, and then later in 1976 made into a Taiwanese production
   starring Brigitte Lin.

   The successful Chinese delay of the Japanese army under overwhelming
   disproportion in strength is often compared to the Battle of
   Thermopylae in the Western world. For others, it left its legacy in
   Chinese history much like the Battle of the Alamo did in American
   folklore.
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