On the morning of the 21st, Mr. Zheng, the grandson of Zhang MinDa, informed the reporter that he had received a phone call notification from the Guangzhou Culture, Radio, Television and News Bureau, stating that the final decision was made to adopt the original repair plan for the archway. Mr. Zheng still had doubts: will there still be safety hazards after the restoration? Mr. Deng, in his nineties, the "grave guardian" of the cemetery, told the reporter that the archway had collapsed for more than half a year. Every morning, he would come to the cemetery and sit for a long time, breathing fresh air. Recently, he hadn't seen anyone coming to repair it. The archway of Mr. Zhang MinDa's tomb was collapsed due to subway construction. Photographed by reporter Zheng Xun of Yangcheng Evening News.
The reporter saw at the scene that the archway of the five overseas Chinese martyrs' tombs was reinforced with steel bars. It was understood that this was a temporary reinforcement measure taken after the archway of Mr. Zhang MinDa's tomb was collapsed due to subway construction. Mr. Zheng said that every Qingming Festival, the family would come to the cemetery twice for worship. One is the public worship during the Qingming Festival when leaders from relevant departments of provinces and cities would come to the cemetery for worship. The other is a private worship organized by the family. Mr. Zheng hopes very much to see the repaired archway before the Qingming Festival.
The reporter came to the Zhang MinDa Cemetery on the west side of Guangzhou Zoo on Zhongshan Road on that day. Zhang MinDa's tomb is connected with the tomb of five overseas Chinese martyrs nearby and was designated as an important cultural relic protection unit by the Guangzhou municipal government in 1983. The serene cemetery with lush trees contrasts sharply with the bustling traffic outside. There used to be a granite archway with two columns and one gate in front of Zhang MinDa's tomb, inscribed with seven large characters "Zhang MinDa Mr. Tomb Path". Now, only the right stone pillar and the right side of the traditional Chinese character "Zhang" remain. The area around the archway is surrounded by iron railings, with a green plant placed beside it. A piece of paper attached to the plant reads "This wall is dangerous, please do not approach."
Half a year ago, it was collapsed due to subway blasting construction. After expert discussions, a restoration plan was adopted and work would start soon.
Yangcheng Evening News reported by journalists He Jing and He YuHua: On the 21st, the archway of the tomb of martyr Zhang MinDa of the Xinhai Revolution, which was collapsed half a year ago due to subway blasting construction, finally determined the restoration plan. The relatives of the martyrs doubted whether "reinforcing on the basis of the existing archway" could ensure stability. Relevant departments indicated that they should try to preserve the parts that can be preserved, and whether there would be safety hazards again would need to be detected after Line 6 of the subway opens. Some experts said that the archway belongs to the category of cultural relics that still have preservation value after being reinforced with materials such as steel bars. If the original part is relatively intact, the original can be used for restoration.