Yangshan Ancient Town International Military Tourist Resort is situated in the southwestern part of Shandong Province. It borders Weishan Lake to the east, Heze—the hometown of Chinese peonies—to the west, the provinces of Jiangsu, Anhui and Henan to the south, and Qufu, the birthplace of Confucius, to the north. Administratively, it falls under Jinxiang County, known nationwide as China’s Hometown of Garlic.

Boasting a superior geographical location, the resort enjoys well-developed land, water and air transportation networks. National Highway 105, together with the Beijing-Shanghai, Beijing-Kowloon, Longhai and Xinxiang-Shijiazhuang railways run alongside the resort. Beijing and Shanghai can be reached within five hours. Jining Qufu Airport is merely 15 kilometres away, with direct air routes to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, making travel exceptionally convenient.

Yangshan was initially named Yangshan (Hill of the Sun) because it lies on the sunny slope of the mountain range in southwestern Shandong. Later it was renamed Yangshan (Sheep Hill) for its shape resembling a crouching sheep. The hill boasts a long history, profound cultural heritage, abundant cultural relics, rare natural landscapes and remarkable revolutionary history.

According to Zuo Zhuan and The History of the Han Dynasty, the Min Clan, a vassal state of the Xia Dynasty, settled and thrived here. Starting from the Eastern Han Dynasty, the administrative seat of Yanzhou Governor stayed in Jinxiang for more than 200 years. The 12th year of the Kangxi reign edition of Jinxiang County Chronicles records that in 192 AD, Cao Cao, a prominent statesman and military strategist, stationed his troops in Changyi, the seat of Yanzhou Mu. He gathered talents and warriors under his command. Troops were dispatched from here when Cao Cao campaigned east against the Green Standard Army in Qingzhou, raided Xuzhou in the south, and fought fiercely with Lü Bu in Huaiyang.

Chapter 12 of Romance of the Three Kingdoms narrates that Cao Cao fought a major battle against the Yellow Turban rebels on Yangshan. He killed He Man and captured Huang Shao alive. He also ordered his men to dig a trap and recruit the great general Xu Chu.

Surrounding Yangshan lies an exceptionally large group of Han Dynasty tombs, rarely seen across the country. Tens of thousands of ancient burial chambers are buried underground at depths ranging from several metres to dozens of metres. Most are single or double-chamber tombs, yielding over ten thousand cultural artefacts from the Han Dynasty. In recent years, multiple multi-chamber Han tombs have been unearthed. Based on archaeological findings and historical records, a large tomb north of the hill belongs to a Han Dynasty military general.

Up to now, 148 well-preserved ancient residential courtyards and shops built in the Ming and Qing dynasties still remain here. These buildings with distinctive local features carry high cultural relic value. In 2008, Yangshan Ancient Dwellings were designated a Municipal Key Cultural Relic Protection Unit.

The famous Yangshan Campaign broke out here. Troops led by Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping fought a bitter battle and completely annihilated the enemy’s 66th Division. They captured more than 9,000 enemy troops including Division Commander Song Ruike, and inflicted over 5,000 casualties, bringing the Southwest Shandong Campaign to a victorious end.

To commemorate thousands of revolutionary martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the campaign, the People’s Government of Jinxiang County built a Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery on the main peak of Yangshan in 1952. It was later approved by higher authorities to be renamed the Memorial Hall of the Southwest Shandong Campaign. The inscription on the hall was handwritten by Liu Huaqing, former Member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and former Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, who once took part in the campaign济宁市人民....

Every year, more than 600,000 visitors from Shandong, Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu and other provinces come here for study and education. The memorial hall has become a well-known modern venue for revolutionary tradition education in southwestern Shandong. It has been listed by the State Council and Shandong Provincial Government as a National and Provincial Key Martyr Memorial Building Protection Unit, a national patriotic education base, and a provincial patriotic education base.

Fifty metres to the west of the memorial hall stands Yangshan Geopark, approved by the Department of Land and Resources of Shandong Province. A natural water area covering over 400 mu has formed a unique mountain lake. Jagged rocks of grotesque shapes surround the lake. Scattered islets dot the water, forming a wonderful natural scenery together with the surrounding rock formations.

In accordance with Jining’s 11th Five-Year Tourism Development Master Plan and Jinxiang’s tourism development plan, the CPC Jinxiang County Committee and the county government have fully tapped Yangshan’s unique cultural resources. Relying on military themes, distinctive geological landforms and natural scenery, the county has integrated all tourism resources of Yangshan. The Yangshan Ancient Town International Military Tourist Resort project has been included as one of the five major sectors of the county’s economic layout and listed as a key county-level project.

A leading group for the construction of the resort was specially set up, with the county Party secretary and county magistrate serving as group leaders. Elite staff from relevant government departments were assigned to form a frontline headquarters to push forward the development and construction of the resort.

Centred on military themes, the resort takes Yangshan ancient dwellings, Xiaotun ancient houses, red tourism and rare Shandong geological features as its foundation. It features fantastic mountain, water and stone forest landscapes and profound historical and cultural attractions. The overall planned area covers 15 square kilometres with an estimated total investment of 1.24 billion yuan.

Adhering to the principles of high-standard planning, high-level development, high-quality construction, balanced protection and development, and pursuing high-quality works, the county invited Peking University to carry out the planning and design in line with international standards. Making full use of existing resources, the resort is focusing on developing seven well-coordinated functional zones: Theme Cultural Memorial Area, Thirty-Six Stratagems Theme Park, Ancient Town Cultural Experience Zone, Battle Simulation Zone, Outdoor Development Zone, Agricultural Ecological Leisure Zone, and Main Entrance Comprehensive Service Zone.

The goal is to build the resort into a model military ancient town tourist destination. With mountains, waters and ancient towns as its landscape foundation, it highlights military tourism and ancient town cultural experience, supplemented by pastoral sightseeing, Han culture exhibition and outward-bound sports. It will satisfy the sightseeing needs of mass tourists and leisure demands of mid-to-high-end visitors.