Anti-Japanese War Victory Memorial Hall

From the sky above Kunming, this monument takes the shape of a massive champagne goblet, while its central auditorium mimics a warplane frozen in flight. This design honors the pilots of the Hump Route airlift and the millions of Yunnan citizens who carved out the Burma Road using simple hoes and the rhythmic clink of hand hammers. Local leader Long Yun initially planned this site, once the Ming Dynasty Mansion of the Duke of Mu and the Qing Dynasty Governor's Office, as a personal tribute hall before it became a monument to national survival.

Completed in 1946, the main hall spans 4,600 square meters, blending Western curved gable walls with traditional Chinese double-eaved hip roofs. Visitors can touch the cool white marble balustrades and look up at the grey-blue cylindrical tiles and painted timber framing. The structure rests on a base formed by the oval Yunrui Park, with Yunrui East and West roads curving upward to form the walls of the symbolic golden cup.

Today, the southern plaza holds the 27-meter-tall Yunnan People's Hero Monument, bearing Deng Xiaoping's carved inscription. Beneath the stone plaza, a 2,000-square-meter underground exhibition hall preserves the history of Yunnan's revolutionary struggle, while the quiet Victory Bookstore in the southeast corner offers a space filled with the scent of new books. The rough stone reliefs on the monument base depict the Battle of Yuwang Mountain and the December 1st Movement, keeping the voices of the past alive. This sanctuary of memory stands in the heart of Kunming, reminding every passerby of the heavy price of peace.