Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery

North Korea as a graving destination? Who would imagine??

There aren't many cemeteries accessible to the few determined travelers who manage to make it into this most isolated of countries. Typically, tours to North Korea include a visit to Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where the bodies of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il lie in state permanently. Some tours also bring you to the tombs of ancient Korean kings, most notably King Kongmin and King Wangon, whose traditional royal tombs lie in the hills outside the city of Kaesong. But if you select the right tour, you will be taken to the Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery, in the outskirts of Pyongyang.

Monument at the entrance to the cemetery

This haunting cemetery contains over 130 monuments to fallen martyrs, mainly those who died during the anti-Japanese resistance in the decades leading up to World War II.

Rows of graves topped with busts

The grave of Kim Jong Suk, first wife of Kim Il Sung and mother of Kim Jong Il, is located in a key position of honor: in the center of the top row. She's considered the mother of the country, and is sort of a patron saint of all things feminine in North Korea.

Grave of Kim Jong Suk

Many of the monuments are cenotaphs, but some contain the ashes of the dead. Each one features a bronze bust, whose likenesses were crafted from photographs of the departed.

A row of martyrs

A typical grave

On Find A Grave

Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery

Getting there

The only way to get into North Korea is to take a tour. And even then, options are limited, and the tours aren't cheap.

One of the most reputable companies is Beijing-based Koryo Tours. To visit this cemetery, choose a tour whose itinerary specifically includes it, because in North Korea you can't just wander off on your own; you have to travel around with your tour group.

South Park Street Cemetery (Calcutta)

During the height of the British Raj, Calcutta served as the capital of India. Because of this, there are several historic foreign cemeteries in the city. And the grandest among these is South Park Street Cemetery.



I believe that this cemetery should by rights belong in the lofty pantheon of the world's great cemeteries, alongside Pere Lachaise, La Recoleta, and Highgate Cemetery. Upon entering the gate, the visitor is overwhelmed by a vista of towering monuments amid well-tended vegetation. Banyans of different kinds are common here, and garden plants such as crotons and dracaenas are planted lovingly along the pathways among the tombs.

The cemetery was opened on August 25, 1767, when it was an area of relatively high ground amid swampy alluvial plains. Park Street, part of which was once a causeway, was built as an access road to the cemeteries here. The cemetery was closed in the 1830s, but burials with family were permitted in the following couple of decades. A very limited number of honorary burials have taken place since, with a few in the 20th century, and one in the 21st.





The people buried here include prominent Britons of two centuries ago: sea captains, high government officials, leaders of the British East India Company, and men honored by knighthood.





Sir William Jones, a great scholar of Indian culture and botany, and an accomplished linguist whose research of the Sanskrit language launched the first serious scholarly inquiries into the origins of the Indo-European language family, is interred here in one of the cemetery's tallest monuments.

The tomb of Sir William Jones


The tomb of Elizabeth Barwell, one of the most massive pyramids in the cemetery


There are a number of legendary graves here. One is that of Charles "Hindoo" Stuart, a British major general who "went native," adopting the customs, dress and even religion of the locals. His tomb is shaped like a small Hindu temple.

The grave of "Hindoo" Stuart.


Another legendary tomb is the Dennison monument, known as the "Bleeding Tomb," because at certain times of year it appears to bleed. (Probably iron oxide leeching out during the rains.)

The Bleeding Tomb


And here's the spiral-columned tomb of young Rose Aylmer, who died of cholera a year after arriving in India.


And the grave of the Anglo-Indian poet Henry Louis Vivian Derozio, who helped inspire the Young Bengal Movement in the early 19th century.



There used to be a North Park Street Cemetery. Unfortunately, it was razed decades ago for urban expansion. Grave tablets from that cemetery were preserved and mounted in the eastern wall of South Park Street Cemetery.



On top of this, there is a small section where graves from the nearby Scottish Cemetery were moved. The Scottish Cemetery has recently been cleaned up and is under restoration.

South Park Street Cemetery contains well over 1,000 burials. If you visit (and if you're a graver, you must!), be sure to stop by the cemetery office and purchase their informative cemetery booklet for Rs. 100 (just over US$2). The proceeds go to helping maintain the cemetery.

A brief video:

On Find A Grave

South Park Street Cemetery

Getting There

South Park Street Cemetery is very centrally located in Calcutta, situated by the intersection of Park Street (now Mother Teresa Sarani) and Lower Circular Road (now AJC Bose Road). It's probably within walking distance from wherever you're staying. It is a 20 minute walk from the Sudder Street area, where the majority of the low-to-mid-level hotels that cater to foreigners are. From the Park Street Metro Station, walk along Park Street in an easterly direction, along the right-hand side of the road, for just under 1.5 km. You can't miss the gate of the cemetery.

Bangkok Protestant Cemetery

The Bangkok Protestant Cemetery is one of my favorite cemeteries in the world. Located on the banks of the Chao Phraya river in a quiet Bangkok neighborhood, it's rarely visited, easy to get to, boasts a wide variety of interesting graves, and makes a nice alternative to the usual tourist activities of the city. There are two 7-Elevens close by as well as a major international-class hotel, meaning that you're never far from food, drinks or a bathroom. There's also a little chapel where you can take shelter from the heat or rain. I could easily spend all day here!

This cemetery contains over 1,000 visible grave plots. People of numerous nationalities are buried here, with British, German and Danish graves being the most common, but there are also Americans, Dutch, French, Russians, Poles, Chinese, Thais, and a Nigerian. Not all burials are Protestant or even Christian: there are a fair number of Jewish graves here, as at the time of their deaths there was no separate Jewish Cemetery.

Several dozen graves/plots have no headstones or legible inscriptions. Of those with legible or decipherable inscriptions, there are approximately 1,000 names recorded on the monuments here. A burial register kept by Christ Church on Convent Road (off Silom Road) records around 1,800 names.

The cemetery was founded as a royal land grant given by King Mongkut (Rama IV) on July 29, 1853. The cemetery remains open to burials on a restricted basis. A new pre-need tomb was erected sometime between November 2009 and August 2010.

The cemetery is divided into sections labeled A, B, C, etc., demarcated by concrete posts. There are some informal subdivisions: there's a small Jewish section (despite this being a Protestant cemetery), a Chinese section, a foreign missionary section, a Danish section, a few military sections, and a section for the family of Admiral John Bush. These divisions are not strict, so not all Jews are in the Jewish section, and not all burials in the Jewish section are of Jews, and so forth.

The Jewish section

The foreign missionaries section

The cemetery is well-tended by a caretaker whose family lives on the premises by the river. They have done a great deal of excellent work over the years I've visited, and each time there have been vast improvements made. A dying tree was removed and new frangipanis were planted in 2009. A lot of landscaping has been done near the entry gate, and the grounds are regularly mowed with weed-whackers during the dry season.

The section close to the river

The cemetery suffers from a major problem: flooding. If you visit during the wet season, expect to find a good proportion of the cemetery inaccessible, though you can still walk along the central drive and walk among the graves close to the river. It's during this time that vegetation can grow uncontrollably, obscuring graves especially in the corner to the far left of the entry gate. Infestations of the invasive Channeled Apple Snail (Pomacea canaliculata) are evident, with their pink egg sacs on gravestones in the wet season, and empty shells on the ground in the dry season. The best time to visit is in the dry season (February-April).

The most impressive memorial is that of Henry Alabaster, an advisor to King Chulalongkorn. The memorial looks like a small church. Alabaster's actual grave is elsewhere in the cemetery. Other prominent people buried here include missionary Dan Beach Bradley.

Henry Alabaster memorial

Grave of Dan Beach Bradley

A brief video

I can't get enough of this wonderful place!

On Find A Grave

Bangkok Protestant Cemetery

Getting there

The address is Soi 72/5, Charoen Krung Road.

By riverboat: Take the orange-flag riverboat heading south and get off at the last stop, which is the Wat Rajsingkorn pier (S3). Walk to the main road, turn left, and then make the next left after the Thailand Tobacco factory. Walk through the brown-painted metal gate.

By BTS: Take the BTS to the Saphan Taksin station. Exit, and walk south along Charoen Krung Road for about 25 minutes. Shortly after the Ramada Menam Riverside Hotel, you'll reach Soi 72/5.

By bus: take bus 1 or 15. Tell the conductor you want to get off at Menam Riverside.

Liuzhangli Cemeteries

Liuzhangli Cemeteries is an informal name for the huge, sprawling complex of graveyards in Taipei. They are located along the narrow and winding Chongde Street, near Liuzhangli MRT station.





Among the cemeteries located here are the following:

Jile Cemetery
Taipei Public Cemetery No. 6
Muslim Cemetery
And three White Terror cemeteries.

Prior to the arrival of the Kuomintang, this area had been primarily tea-growing land, owned and farmed by local families for a century and a half. It has long been the tradition of farmers to bury their loved ones on family-owned land, and thus graves began appearing on the hillsides. A tomb dated 1831 has been spotted here, but there may be even older graves. But when the KMT took control of Taiwan, they declared the entire area a place for burials. Here is the final resting place of KMT heroes and victims, folks rich and poor, soldier and civilian, famous and anonymous. There are even a few foreigners buried here.

This area is particularly fascinating because of the sheer variety of different styles of tombs visible here. Some are demarcated by horseshoe-shaped walls, some are shaped like loaves of bread, some like little houses, some grand monuments, some just tiny stones. There are graves of Buddhists, Taoists, Muslims, and Christians. If there's one place in Taiwan to get a good overview of the diversity of grave styles, this is the place.

A horseshoe-shaped tomb, and above it, a house-shaped tomb


A loaf-shaped tomb


The tomb of the Taiwanese activist Chiang Wei-shui


Getting there:
To reach the cemeteries, exit Liuzhangli MRT station, turn right and walk immediately across the street. The next street is Chongde Street. From there, you can walk a couple km up the road, or take a cab. In the lead-up weeks before the Qingming Festival, free shuttle services are available on this road on the weekends. A convenient place to start exploring is the at prominent white pagoda.

On Google Street View:

Pagoda area

Tours:
Interesting, informative tours of this area are often given by Linda Gail Arrigo.

British Cemetery (Kathmandu)

Nepal offers few opportunities for cemetery research. However, within the city of Kathmandu lies a true gem of a cemetery. It's the British Cemetery.



This is a lovely little graveyard that offers the visitor a break from the chaos of the city. The cemetery is small--fewer than 100 marked interments--but it's well tended by caretakers who live on site. It's adorned with camellias, poinsettias, frangipani, ficus, agave, flame vine and more.



The cemetery, known to the locals as Kapur Dhara, was founded in 1816, the year that the Gurkha War ended and the British Embassy was established. The earliest marked interment is that of Robert Stuart in 1820. The cemetery is on the grounds of the British Embassy, though it's now no longer contiguous with the main complex of the British Embassy since much of the former embassy land was transferred to establish the Indian Embassy.



Not many people here are famous. Perhaps the most well-known interee is Boris Lissanevitch, the founder of the famed Yak & Yeti Hotel.



The oldest graves are the first ones you encounter after entering though the gate. There are only seven marked interments from the 19th century, and the monuments for them are all quite grand.



Many of the graves are those of adventure seekers who met with tragedy. One of the most poignant graves is that of the Wilkins family, who died in a plane crash in 1992. I paused an especially long time while visiting their grave.



One of the most interesting graves is that of Micheal (sic) John Cheney. It features both a Christian cross and a small Buddhist stupa.



Well worth a visit, and off the beaten tourist path.

On Find A Grave

British Cemetery

Getting there

From Thamel: Walk east along Tridevi Marg (the street where the Fire & Ice pizza restaurant is) to the intersection with Kanti Path, where the gateway to the Ministry of Education is. Then walk north. Cross the next major intersection and keep walking north (Lazimpat Road) and then up the side street past the Department of Geology and Mines and the British Embassy. When you reach the Indian Embassy, walk along the narrow walled street that angles westward. After about five minutes you will reach the gate of the cemetery. It will be locked: knock at the gate, and the caretaker should come and let you in. If that doesn't happen, go back to the British Embassy and inquire there about visiting. (To maximize your chance of entry into the cemetery, it may be wise to go on a weekday.)

Fort Canning Green

In Singapore, on a hill a few blocks from the Raffles Hotel, the Orchard Road shopping district and other local landmarks, is Fort Canning Park, a wonderful historic area that makes a nice haven from the hustle and bustle of city life. Within this park is a sloping open space called Fort Canning Green, which is often used as a venue for concerts and other shows, but most of the time it's an open grassy space.

Fort Canning Green


Many visitors many not know that this grassy space was once a cemetery. If you attended the Lady Gaga concert that took place here last year, you may not know that you were dancing on people's former graves!

It was active as a burial ground from 1822 (consecrated in October 6, 1834) until its closure on March 31, 1865. More than 600 people were buried here during those four short decades. Thereafter, it sat undisturbed, and sometimes tended, for nearly a century. It must have been a grand sight, filled with large above-ground tombs not unlike those found in Penang's Protestant Cemetery.

But Singapore doesn't have a reputation for being kind to its cemeteries. One of the tiniest countries in the world, Singapore is perennially desperate for land, and over the last 60 years has gradually been reclaiming its cemeteries.

This cemetery was no exception. Decades ago (the 50s or the 70s: sources differ), it too fell victim to the bulldozer and backhoe. The bodies were exhumed and the tombstones removed. But thankfully, around 250 grave tablets were preserved, and were mounted in the walls surrounding the green. And a few gravestones were moved to the nearby Armenian Church.

Grave tablets mounted in walls




Another bit of misfortune is that the burial register was lost in the 19th century. But thankfully, in 1912, H.A. Stallwood, a government clerk, was tasked with recording all the burials and mapping the graves. Then in 1985, Alan Harfield conducted comprehensive research of Stallwood's records, obituaries, the remaining grave tablets and other sources. As such, much information about the people buried here is preserved.

Furthermore, there's a group of 12 graves standing in the northeastern corner. These are not originally from here, having been relocated from another razed graveyard, Bukit Timah Cemetery.

Group of 12 graves


There are a few original structures that have been preserved. The two famous Gothic Gates, designed by Charles Edward Faber, are landmarks of this place.

One of the Gothic Gates


Here's a sign I came across while there:


Other original structures are two cupolas. But according to Stallwood's records and Harfield's research, they were not associated with any graves.

Cupolas


Here's a map. Note: east is up in this map!



The park and the grave tablets make a great place for a modeling photo shoot!



I came across a couple surprise discoveries while there: I found the wives of two missionaries whose graves I had found elsewhere.

Mary Gutzlaff, the wife of Karl Gutzlaff, buried in Hong Kong.

Matilda Dean, the first wife of William Dean, buried in Rochester, NY. His second wife, Theodosia, is also buried in Hong Kong.

One more thing: just outside this cemetery there sits a lone grave. It's considered a sacred spot among many local Muslims. The site is Keramat Iskandar Shah, the supposed burial site of a 14th century sultan of Singapore, long before Singapore was Singapore. (There's apparently no body in the coffin: Iskandar Shah was actually believed to have been buried near Malacca, however.)

Keramat Iskandar Shah


Getting there

By foot:

It's easy to walk here from downtown Singapore. Find Coleman St. (near St. Andrew's Cathedral) and walk in an easterly direction. Soon the street's name changes to Canning Rise. Continue on; the street goes uphill and curves northward. Soon you will see Fort Canning Green on the left. You can't miss the Gothic Gates.

By MRT:

The closest MRT station is Dhoby Ghaut; the second closest is City Hall. You'll have to cross a few streets, but it's easy to get to in either case. Look at the maps in the MRT stations. If you get lost, just ask the way: Singaporeans are excellent with directions!

On Find A Grave

Fort Canning Green

On Google Street View

Fort Canning Green

Chin Pao San Cemetery

Located on the mountainside above the north-coast town of Jinshan, in Taiwan, is Chin Pao San Cemetery. Chin Pao San (jinbaoshan), meaning "mountain of gold and jewels," is a modern cemetery just up the road from Juming Museum (the museum of one of Taiwan's most famous artists, Ju Ming).

Chin Pao San Cemetery


Various people have disputed the English spelling of the cemetery name, but this comes straight from the horse's mouth: the most authoritative source, which is the cemetery office itself:



It's got some fascinating art. Some may find it tacky, others otherworldly. Whatever the case, it's rather unusual and captivating.

Buddha grotto


Bizarre structure near the cemetery entrance


Several weeks ago I visited the cemetery, and while there I decided (somewhat unprepared) to look for the grave of Echo Chan, a famed Taiwanese writer. I knew from prior research that her ashes were interred on the third floor of the big lingguta (pagoda-like columbarium) that dominates the cemetery.

Lingguta, named Jinbaota ("tower of gold and jewels")


To get to the tower, you have to walk through a small convenience store next to the cemetery office, then you get in an elevator and go to the 5th floor. It opens up to an exterior plaza. The tower is immediately across the plaza.

I entered the tower, and climbed the stairs to its 3rd floor, only to find there are thousands of niches in there. So I went down to the front desk and inquired. After some tapping on the computer and phoning the main office, the clerk told me that Echo Chan is indeed interred here... but! ... he said he couldn't give out the location to just anyone.

The gauntlet was thrown down. If there's one thing I love when it comes to graving, it's a challenge. "I'll be back," I said to him... in my mind.

Today I went back. This time I was armed with information. Echo Chan's real name is Chen Ping, and pseudonym is Sanmao. And her vital dates are 1943-1991. I went into the tower, climbed to the 3rd floor, and checked around to see where people who died in 1991 were most likely to be interred. Then I started doing an exhaustive search of the north side of the room. Soon enough, I found a Chen Ping. Could this be her? On closer inspection I saw the dates 1929-1990. Wrong person.

After about half an hour of searching niche by niche through the names, serenaded by prerecorded Buddhist chants piped into the room, I finished the north side. Time to move to the west side. I was getting somewhat tired of looking at all these names, and thought that maybe I'd go home when I finished the west side, and continue the search another day. I did find a couple foreigners' niches here, so all was not lost.

But soon I came across another Chen Ping. Another false alarm? But look at all the flowers!! I checked the dates, and what should I see, but 1943-1991. I found her! I succeeded in my challenge!



My mission accomplished, I went on to visit the most famous grave of all at this cemetery: the grave of singer Teresa Teng. Teresa Teng is known as "Taiwan's Sweetheart," a woman with a very sweet, demure disposition who sang classic songs and entertained the troops. She died of asthma while on vacation in Thailand in 1995.

Like Echo Chan, she died in her 40s in the 90s. Unlike Echo Chan's grave, the location of Teresa Teng's grave is public knowledge. Indeed, busloads of tourists and fans make pilgrimages to her gravesite.

Teresa Teng's gravesite is an exercise in kitschiness. Tacky art adorns the entire memorial area, and her music constantly plays here through speakers. No idea if it plays during the night.

Here's the entry to the memorial area. The sign says "Teresa Teng Memorial Park." It just so happened that the plants alongside the adjacent graves were being misted, hence the wetness.



Some sculptures near the entrance


Some music-themed art


On the approach to her grave is a giant keyboard with marble keys. It actually plays: if you step on the keys, they play notes.



Beyond the keyboard is a golden statue of Teresa Teng in a treble-clef-shaped flower bed.



Closeup of statue


Then we come to the gravesite itself. People often leave offerings here. Flowers, incense, etc. I've even seen people leave burning cigarettes in the incense pot!



Closeup of inscription.


There's a cool-looking cactus garden adjacent to memorial area. Just walk down the steps on your right as you head away from the gravesite. The shuttle bus stop is just across the road.



Getting There

By bus:

It used to be a chore to get up there by public transportation. Now the North Coast Shuttle makes it a snap. From the Tamsui (Danshui) MRT station, take the North Coast Shuttle Bus (NT$100 for all-day pass to evert stop along the route) to the Yun Garden stop, which is stop #10 along the route between Danshui and Keelung. Teresa Teng's grave is just opposite the bus shelter, up a stairway in a cactus garden.

By car:

Drive along coastal Highway 2. A couple km north of downtown Jinshan, you'll see brown tourist-site signs pointing to the Teresa Teng Memorial Garden or to the Juming Museum. Follow the signs. Keep an eye out for signs with the characters 金寶山 on them... they'll point the right way. If you find yourself at the Juming Museum, drive up the road about 0.85 km until you come to a T-junction, then turn left.

If you're heading west on Hwy 2 and you drive past the Young Door Cafe, you've gone too far. Head back toward Jinshan and look for the signs.

On Find A Grave

Chin Pao San Cemetery

On Google Street View

Cemetery Office
Teresa Teng Memorial Garden