At the ceremony in the courtyard of the Jilin Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, 45 honor guards stood solemnly, with government officials, military personnel, police officers, and student representatives forming a phalanx to pay respects.

Yang, born Ma Shangde, was a national hero who led the First Route of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army during the war.

He was surrounded by a group of Japanese invaders and a puppet army on Feb 23, 1940, in what was then Mengjiang county in Jilin. Yang opened fire on the invaders, battling alone until he was killed.

After Yang's death, the Japanese dissected his body, finding only undigested blades of grass, cotton batting, and tree bark in his stomach. He had gone five days without food.

In 1946, Mengjiang was renamed Jingyu in his memory.