A noble quest

Saluting martyrs

Yu's journey has also hit national headlines, which has increased the possibilities of finding more families. College students, volunteers and people unknown to Yu have contacted him for support.

In 2008, he was honored during China Central Television's annual Touching China awards.

A film company plans to make a documentary based on Yu's story. He is also writing a book to commemorate the fallen heroes.

No longer abandoned or bleak, the cemetery has been renovated by the local government.

An access road has been built and trees and flowers have been planted.

The names of the fallen soldiers were inscribed on a memorial wall in the graveyard. A 14.2-meter-high monument was built to mark the gravesite.

There is also a museum exhibiting photos, letters and cultural relics found in the graves or restored by their families.

In the past 10 years, nearly 1 million visitors have paid homage to the deceased soldiers in the graveyard, Zhang Jianping, head of Chibi's martyrs' cemetery, told The Beijing News recently.

It is one of the three biggest cemeteries for soldiers of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army who died in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. The other two are located in Shenyang and Dandong in Liaoning province.

On Oct 19, 1950, the Chinese People's Volunteer forces, under a request made by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, crossed the Yalu River to aid the DPRK's fight there until a truce was signed in 1953. A total of 2.9 million CPV soldiers entered the battlefield, and 197,653 of them sacrificed their lives in the war.

"These fallen heroes should never be forgotten by the Chinese people," Yu says.

He adds that there are still 22 deceased soldiers whose families he has yet to find and three graves remain unidentified.

"I do not have much time left and maybe there will be a regret deep in my heart forever, but I will keep trying," Yu say.