MartyrLi Dazhao
1889 — 1927
A pioneer of the communist movement in China and a principal founder of the CPC. He was executed in Beijing on 28 April 1927, aged 38.
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Heroes
A nation with hope cannot be without heroes; a country with a future cannot be without pioneers.
Martyr
MartyrFang Zhimin
1899 — 1935
A proletarian revolutionary who wrote Lovable China in prison before he was executed in August 1935.
MartyrYang Jingyu
1905 — 1940
A founder and leader of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army. He fought alone in the snow until his death; his stomach held only grass, bark and cotton wadding.
MartyrZhao Yiman
1905 — 1936
A heroine of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army. Captured and tortured, she never gave in and was executed in August 1936.
MartyrFive Heroes of Mount Langya
1941
Ma Baoyu, Ge Zhenlin, Song Xueyi, Hu Delin and Hu Fucai led the enemy away to cover the escape of villagers and troops, then leapt from the cliff when their ammunition ran out. Pictured: their memorial statue.
MartyrLiu Hulan
1932 — 1947
She faced execution without fear at just 15. Mao Zedong wrote for her: “A great life, a glorious death.”
MartyrDong Cunrui
1929 — 1948
At the Battle of Longhua he held up an explosive pack with his own body to destroy an enemy bunker and open the way for his comrades.
MartyrJiang Zhujun
1920 — 1949
Tortured in the Zhazidong prison in Chongqing, she never yielded and was executed in November 1949. She inspired “Sister Jiang” in the novel Red Crag.
MartyrHuang Jiguang
1931 — 1952
At the Battle of Shangganling he blocked a firing enemy machine-gun port with his chest so his unit could advance. He was named a Special-Class Hero.
MartyrQiu Shaoyun
1926 — 1952
Set alight by an incendiary bomb while lying in ambush, he stayed motionless so as not to give away his unit, until he died.
Two Bombs, One SatelliteQian Xuesen
1911 — 2009
Overcoming every obstacle, he returned to China in 1955 and became the founder of China's space program — the “father of Chinese rocketry”.
Two Bombs, One SatelliteDeng Jiaxian
1924 — 1986
A founder of China's nuclear weapons program, he worked in secret for 28 years on the atomic and hydrogen bombs.
Two Bombs, One SatelliteGuo Yonghuai
1909 — 1968
When his plane crashed in 1968, he and his guard held each other tight to shield a briefcase of secret documents. He is the only martyr among the “Two Bombs, One Satellite” scientists.
Two Bombs · Medal of the RepublicYu Min
1926 — 2019
He solved key problems in the hydrogen bomb breakthrough and proposed a near-complete design from principle to configuration — the “father of China's hydrogen bomb”.
Two Bombs · Medal of the RepublicSun Jiadong
1929 —
Technical lead of Dong Fang Hong 1 and later chief designer of BeiDou and the lunar program — he grew up with Chinese spaceflight.
Medal of the RepublicYuan Longping
1930 — 2021
The “father of hybrid rice”. His dreams of “resting in the shade of rice plants” and of hybrid rice covering the world inspire generations.
Medal of the RepublicTu Youyou
1930 —
Discoverer of artemisinin and winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine — the first Nobel science laureate educated and working in China.
Medal of the RepublicHuang Xuhua
1926 — 2025
Chief designer of China's first nuclear submarine; he kept his work secret for 30 years.
Medal of the RepublicZhang Fuqing
1924 — 2022
A combat hero of the Liberation War who settled in the mountains of Laifeng, Hubei, and kept his honours to himself for more than 60 years.
Medal of the RepublicZhong Nanshan
1936 —
A respiratory medicine expert who led the fight against SARS and COVID-19; awarded the Medal of the Republic in 2020.
Role ModelLei Feng
1940 — 1962
“Devote your limited life to serving the people without limit.” 5 March is Learn from Lei Feng Day.
Role ModelJiao Yulu
1922 — 1964
A model county Party secretary who led the people of Lankao, Henan, against sandstorms, waterlogging and salinity, working until his last breath.
Role ModelWang Jinxi
1923 — 1970
The “Iron Man” of China's oil industry: “Even if I live twenty years less, I will develop this oilfield.” Pictured: his statue in Yumen.
July 1 MedalZhang Guimei
1957 —
Founder of China's first free girls' high school in Huaping, Yunnan, which has sent more than two thousand girls from the mountains to university.
Role ModelHuang Wenxiu
1989 — 2019
After a master's degree at Beijing Normal University, she returned to Guangxi as first Party secretary of Baini village and gave her life in the fight against poverty. Pictured: the blue vest she wore.
戍
Border HeroesChen Hongjun, Chen Xiangrong, Xiao Siyuan, Wang Zhuoran
2020
They gave their lives defending the border in the Galwan Valley. Chen Xiangrong wrote in his diary: “My pure love is only for China.”
Hero AstronautYang Liwei
1965 —
The first Chinese person in space, aboard Shenzhou-5 in 2003, fulfilling the nation's thousand-year dream of flight.
There are many more heroes than these. We salute every ordinary yet great person who strives for others.