I knew it was bad here, a place that is full true life horrors but I didn’t realize how bad it had been, shocked it still stands.
In Lv Shun the most southern tip of North East China, was a tiny fishing village ignored for its value until the Japanese took control and exploited it in 1894. The Japanese killed over 10,000 civilians and only 36 remained alive simply to be enslaved and tasked to deal with the massacre. It is historically called the Port Arthur Massacre which was the English it was given by the British navy during the Opium wars.
Japan would send prisoners from all of the concurred lands to here. Usually they killed everyone, being sent here might have been worse and probably have the same fate. It was later taken over by Russia which leased the area from China thus forcing out Japan with a thin alliance with France and Germany who got together to prevent Japan from pushing further in China. The Russians used the prison as well.
The cells had really small doors. I mean how short were they back then or is it just another type of torture.
In 1905 during Japans war with Russia it fell back in to the hands of Japanese as they had already taken the Korean peninsula and split Russian army cutting it off and then blocking the Russian navy at. The tables had turned again and China continued not having control. It no secret to the world the horrible things that happened to the Chinese people during this time in history. This prison was a symbol of the horror.
Small rooms and chambers; where not only Chinese prisoners went but also Korean and other people from lands Japan had defeated. Death was almost certain for everyone imprisoned sooner or later, living was hell.
Ball and chains when doing forced labour were common for those who were able to work, not being able was probably the result of being worked too hard or injured from beating or surviving battles. Please understand the Japanese pretty much killed everyone indiscriminately so being sent here means you really pissed someone off.
Like Korean Patriot Jung-Gun Ahn whose execution made him a martyr in Korea. He was a Korean Lieutenant General in the Korean Independence Army, who assassinated a Japanese warlord during Japans occupation of what is now the Northern part of Korea. I wonder if they know this story today.
The Torture Room must have been one of the most feared places to be sent. It seems like everything about this place was torture, how could it get worse. I didn’t see any fireplaces r sources of heat and this part of the world can have some pretty cold winters especially with the icy winds coming off the sea.
The Hanging Room was last the place many inmates saw. Many also died from disease and other illnesses brought on by the harsh conditions of being kept here. The system was set up so that the executed prisoner would fall into a wood barrel and buried in the back.
Here we have some excavated barrels on display. I am not sure if they are the real thing or just a representation but the lighting was really low so I’m sorry the shot is a blurry, it really had a creepy feeling in this place I didn’t want to stick around long.
Today this place is just a museum and relic that mustn’t be forgotten. It’s located in what is now a small city that had been off limits to foreigners up until about 10 years ago as it still remains one of the most strategic ports in China from a military point of view. Dalian is further up the coast and is a much bigger metropolis serving all types of people and businesses. I can only imagine how many of the worlds nukes are pointing at this place right now.
At least I was just passing through on field trip and not subjected the terrifying reality those put here against their will had to endure. China will not let such things happen again nor do I expect any nation in modern history with ability to do so would want to to do so.