The Wuzhi Mountain Military Cemetery (, sometimes romanized as ''Wuchih'') is

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

's most prominent military cemetery. The cemetery is located on Wuzhi Mountain () at an elevation of in

Xizhi Xizhi () is an inner city district in eastern New Taipei City in northern Taiwan, and is located between Taipei City and Keelung City. Compared to most districts in eastern New Taipei, which are very sparsely populated, Xizhi is one of the mor ...

New Taipei City New Taipei City is a special municipality located in northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 3,974,683 as of 2022, making it the most populous city of Taiwan, and also the second largest special municipality by area, b ...

and borders

Taipei City Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

Neihu Neihu District is a district of Taipei City, Taiwan. Neihu means "inner lake." The older name originates from the Ketagalan word ''Tayour'' (transliterated by the Dutch as ''Cattajo''), meaning woman's head ornament. Many mountainous roads an ...

District and

Yangmingshan National Park Yangmingshan National Park is one of the nine national parks in Taiwan, located in both Taipei and New Taipei City. The districts that are partially in the park include Taipei's Beitou and Shilin Districts; and New Taipei's Wanli, Jinshan, ...

. The cemetery has a wide open view ranging from the

Taipei 101 Taipei 101 (; stylized as TAIPEI 101), formerly known as the Taipei World Financial Center, is a supertall skyscraper in Taipei, Taiwan. This building was officially classified as the world's tallest from its opening in 2004 until the 2009 ...

over at Taipei's Xinyi District to the

Keelung Keelung () or Jilong () (; Hokkien Pe̍h-ōe-jī, POJ: '), officially known as Keelung City, is a major port Provincial city (Taiwan), city situated in the northeastern part of Taiwan. The city is a part of the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan a ...

Harbor.

History

General

Chiang Wei-kuo Chiang Wei-kuo (; 6 October 1916 – 22 September 1997), also known as Wego Chiang, was the adopted son of Republic of China President Chiang Kai-shek, the adoptive brother of President Chiang Ching-kuo, a retired Army general, and an important f ...

, the adopted son of

Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...

, conceived and designed the cemetery. Prior to the construction of the cemetery, the land was used as a golf course. Planning for the cemetery started in April 1980, with construction starting on March 20, 1981; the cemetery opened on March 29, 1982. A four-story columbarium named the Memorial Palace () was opened on January 20, 2002 after two years of construction. It has a total capacity of 19,537 niches on the four named floors: # # # #

Issues

Capacity

Although the cemetery has nearly 226 hectares total area, the terrain and building codes restrict interment to only 78 ha of the land. , the cemetery, which has 9,236 grave plots, is nearly full; further deceased military officials will need to be cremated and their ashes stored in the

columbarium A columbarium (; pl. columbaria) is a structure for the reverential and usually public storage of funerary urns, holding cremated remains of the deceased. The term can also mean the nesting boxes of pigeons. The term comes from the Latin "''colu ...

Chiang family

In 2004, Chiang Fang-liang made a request to inter the bodies of Chiang Kai-shek and his son,

Chiang Ching-kuo Chiang Ching-kuo (27 April 1910 – 13 January 1988) was a politician of the Republic of China after its retreat to Taiwan. The eldest and only biological son of former president Chiang Kai-shek, he held numerous posts in the government ...

at Wuzhi. However, the plan did not receive universal support from the Chiang family, and despite the completion of their tombs at Wuzhi, Chiang Kai-shek and his son remain at

Cihu Cihu Mausoleum (), officially known as the Mausoleum of Late President Chiang () or President Chiang Kai-shek Mausoleum, is the final resting place of President Chiang Kai-shek. It is located in Daxi District, Taoyuan City, Taiwan. When Chiang Ka ...

and Touliao, respectively.

Notable interments

Most are senior generals who served under KMT from mainland China or dignitaries *

, general and adopted son of Chiang Kai-shek *

Huang Baitao Huang Baitao (; 9 September 1900 – 22 November 1948), also known as Huang Botao (黄伯韬), was a Chinese Nationalist general active in the Second Sino-Japanese War and Chinese Civil War, for which he was twice awarded the Order of Blue Sky a ...

* Gu Zhutong, a senior general who followed Chiang from Shanghai *

He Yingqin He Yingqin, (; April 2, 1890 – October 21, 1987) also Ho Ying-chin, was a politician and one of the most senior generals of the Kuomintang (KMT) during Republic of China, and a close ally of Chiang Kai-shek. Early years A native of Guizhou, H ...

, a senior KMT general who was chief staff and chief instructor from

Whampoa Military Academy The Republic of China Military Academy () is the service academy for the army of the Republic of China, located in Fengshan District, Kaohsiung. Previously known as the the military academy produced commanders who fought in many of China ...

. * Huang Chieh, general and former Taiwan Governor who brought servicemen from western Hunan Province. *

Liu Yuzhang Liu Yuzhang (; 11 November 1903 – 11 April 1981), nicknamed the "Bald General", was a prominent Chinese (Kuomintang) general. He was one of the very few KMT commanders who could defeat both the Imperial Japanese Army and Communist PLA in the Se ...

, general from Tsingtao *

Tang Enbo Tang Enbo (, birth name was ,(1898–1954) was a Kuomintang, Nationalist general in the Republic of China. Life Early life and war with Japan Born in 1898 in Wuyi, Zhejiang, Tang Enbo was a graduate of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy, an ...

Sun Zhen Sun Zhen (; 5 February 1892 – 9 September 1985) was a General of the National Revolutionary Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War and Chinese Civil War. Biography In 1933 he was made a General commanding the Garrison of Sichuan's Northwester ...

Sun Lianzhong Sun Lianzhong (; 2 February 1893 – 14 August 1990) was a Chinese general during the Warlord Era, Second Sino-Japanese War and Chinese Civil War. Best known for his commanded of the 2nd Group Army in the Battle of Taierzhuang, he had a long ca ...

Cheng Wei-yuan Cheng Wei-yuan (; 20 January 1913 – 3 August 1993) was a Taiwanese politician. He was the only Minister of National Defense (1987-1989) with the complete personal achievements in all the 4 power systems (Kuomintang, Politics, Militar ...

Yen Chia-kan Yen Chia-kan (; 23 October 1905 – 24 December 1993), also known as C. K. Yen, was a Kuomintang politician. He succeeded Chiang Kai-shek as President of the Republic of China on 5 April 1975, being sworn in on 6 April 1975, and served out the ...

, former

President of the Republic of China The president of the Republic of China, now often referred to as the president of Taiwan, is the head of state of the Republic of China (ROC), as well as the commander-in-chief of the Republic of China Armed Forces. The position once had ...

* Xue Yue, General from Kwangtung * Wang Shuming *

Ding Delong Ding Delong (; 24 May 1904 – 24 February 1996) was a Chinese National Revolutionary Army general from Hunan. Biography Ding Delong was born in 1904 in You County, Hunan Province, China. At the age of 20, he enrolled in a military academy, later ...

, General from Hunan * Wang Sheng * Louie Yim-qun *

Chuang Ming-yao Chuang Ming-yao (; 16 November 1929 – 6 January 2002) was a Taiwanese admiral, diplomat, and politician. Chuang served as the Vice Minister of National Defense under Chen Li-an and was named commander of the Republic of China Navy in 1992 ...

* Nelson Ku *

Chiang Chung-ling Chiang Chung-ling (; 21 September 1922 – 18 March 2015) was a Taiwanese army general, former Minister of Defense and Vice Chairman of the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party). As Minister of Defense, he called for the use of Sky Horse missil ...

* Chen Hsing-ling *

Hau Pei-tsun Hau Pei-tsun (, 8 August 1919 – 30 March 2020) was a Chinese politician and military officer who was the Premier of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1 June 1990 to 27 February 1993, and the longest-serving Chief of the General Staff of the R ...

, former

Premier of the Republic of China The Premier of the Republic of China, officially the President of the Executive Yuan ( Chinese: 行政院院長), is the head of the government of the Republic of China of Taiwan and leader of the Executive Yuan. The premier is nominally the ...

Lee Teng-hui Lee Teng-hui (; 15 January 192330 July 2020) was a Taiwanese statesman and economist who served as president of the Republic of China (Taiwan), President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) under Constitution of the Republic of China, the 1947 C ...

, former

Tang Yao-ming Tang Yao-ming (; 29 November 1940 – 3 November 2021) was a Taiwanese general officer. He was the Minister of National Defense of the Republic of China (ROC) from 2002 to 2004. Ministry of National Defense Tang was named to the position of ...

References

{{commons category Cemeteries in Taiwan Military cemeteries Geography of New Taipei Tourist attractions in New Taipei Military of the Republic of China 1982 establishments in Taiwan National cemeteries

History

Issues

Capacity

Chiang family

Notable interments

See also

References