Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum is the tomb of Sun Yat-sen, the founding father of the Republic of China and the forerunner of the Chinese democratic revolution. In 1961, it became the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units. In 2007, it became the first batch of national 5A-level scenic spots. The Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum is surrounded by vast plains in front and towering blue mountains behind it. It has a magnificent atmosphere and has memorial buildings such as the Music Stage, Guanghua Pavilion, Liuhui Pavilion, Yangzhi Pavilion, Sutra Library, Xingjian Pavilion, Yongfeng Society, and Zhongshan Academy. Stars surround the mausoleum like a moon, constituting the main landscape of the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum Scenic Area. They are all masterpieces of famous architects and have extremely high artistic value. Each building has achieved excellent results in terms of shape combination, color application, material expression and detail processing. The harmonious and unified tone enhances the solemn atmosphere. It has both profound meaning and magnificent momentum. It is known as "China's The first mausoleum in the history of modern architecture."
After Sun Yat-sen passed away, in compliance with his last wish to be buried in Zhongshan, the Nanjing Republic of China government selected a site in Purple Mountain to build the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum. Dr. Sun Yat-sen's funeral preparation office has widely solicited mausoleum design proposals. As a result, the "Liberty Bell" (also known as: Alarm Bell) pattern designed by architect Lu Yanzhi won the first prize. "Bell" means warning and symbolizes Dr. Sun Yat-sen's contribution to the revolution. Lu Yanzhi's plan combines the essence of ancient Chinese and Western architecture, is solemn, simple, and innovative. In the judging report, Nanyang University President Ling Hongxun praised Lu Yanzhi's design as "simple and vigorous, most suitable for the nature of the mausoleum and the terrain. The entire plane is bell-shaped, especially Mu Duo's warning to the world." Lu Yanzhi was also hired as the chief architect of the mausoleum. On March 18, 1929, before the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum project was finally completed, Lu Yanzhi died of liver and intestinal cancer at the age of 36. In recognition of his outstanding contribution to the construction of Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, the Prime Minister's Cemetery Management Committee later built a monument to Lu Yanzhi in the foundation laying room at the southwest corner of the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum Memorial Hall. The upper part of the stele is a bust of Lu Yanzhi, and the lower part is engraved with an inscription written by Youren: "Lü Yanzhi, the architect of the Prime Minister's Mausoleum and supervising the mausoleum workers, died of overwork. The Prime Minister's Cemetery Management Committee decided on May 28, 19, to erect a stone to commemorate it." . There is a tall granite archway at the entrance of the mausoleum, with the two gold characters "fraternity" written by Mr. Sun Yat-sen on it. Behind the stone square is a tomb passage 375 meters long and 40 meters wide. Along the tomb path is the mausoleum gate, with a green glazed tile as the top and the four characters "The world is for the commonwealth" written by Sun Yat-sen on the forehead. The use of cyan glazed tiles has a certain meaning. Cyan symbolizes the sky, and cyan glazed tiles mean that the world is for the common good. Then enter the stele pavilion. The plane of the stele pavilion is approximately square, about 12 meters wide and 17 meters high. A stele about 9 meters high is engraved with the words "Chairman of the National Government, Executive President, and one of the four major calligraphers in the Kuomintang". Tan Yankai (the other three are Yu Youren, Hu Hanmin and Wu Zhihui). The handwritten "The Chinese Kuomintang buried Prime Minister Sun Yat-sen here on June 1, the 18th year of the Republic of China" (Sun Yat-sen agreed to recommend Yuan Yi to replace him on the condition that Yuan Shikai guaranteed the abdication of the Qing Emperor, resigned as the interim president, and Yuan Shikai took office as the Republic of China). The first president, so he was buried in the name of the Prime Minister of the Kuomintang) with gilt characters. The characters are in Yan style. In 1928, the funeral preparation office believed that Mr.’s thoughts and achievements could not be summarized in words, so they decided not to use an inscription. The monument starts from the archway and goes up to the memorial hall. There are 392 stone steps and 8 platforms. The steps are made of Suzhou granite. There are two Huabiao on the highest platform, followed by a sacrificial hall. The sacrificial hall is a palace-like building. It is 30 meters long, 25 meters wide and 29 meters high. The outer wall is made of Hong Kong granite. The roof of the hall is a traditional Chinese double eaves Xieshan style, covered with blue glazed tiles. The memorial hall has three arches, and the forehead is engraved with the banner "Nation, Civil Rights, People's Livelihood" handwritten by Kuomintang veteran Zhang Jingjiang (representing the Three People's Principles proposed by Dr. Sun Yat-sen). The lintel of the memorial hall is engraved with the four words "Heaven and Earth are righteous" written by Sun Yat-sen. There is a seated marble statue of Mr. Sun Yat-sen in the hall, which is 4.6 meters high and lifelike. It was carved from Italian white marble by the world-famous sculptor Paul Lentsky in Paris, France. There are reliefs reflecting Mr. Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary deeds around the east and west sides of the statue. The full text of the "Outline of the Founding of the People's Republic of China" written by Dr. Sun Yat-sen is engraved on the marble walls of the east and west walls of the memorial hall, and a huge Kuomintang emblem is painted on the dome. There are two tomb doors at the back of the hall. The two front doors are made of copper and the door frames are made of black marble.
There is a banner with the words "The great spirit will last forever" handwritten by Mr. Zhongshan. The second door is made of a single copper door, with a stone inscription of "Mr. Sun Yat-sen's Tomb" engraved on the door. The entrance is a circular tomb chamber with a diameter of 18 meters and a height of 11 meters. The tomb is located at an altitude of 165 meters, 700 meters away from the starting point, and has a height difference of 73 meters. The top is inlaid with the Kuomintang emblem with colorful mosaics, and the ground is paved with white marble. In the center is a long tomb, with a white marble reclining statue of Mr. Zhongshan above. This statue was carved by the Czech sculptor Gao Qi in the image of his body. The body of Dr. Sun Yat-sen is buried below. He was buried in an American-made copper coffin. The tomb is 4 meters in diameter and 5 meters deep, and is sealed with reinforced concrete. Visitors can look down at the recumbent statue on the coffin around the white marble railing in the circular tomb.