The monument was first built in 1940 as 精神堡垒 (Spirit Fortress) during the War of Resistance, then rebuilt in 1947 as the 抗战胜利纪功碑 (Victory Monument). After 1949 it was renamed 人民解放纪念碑 (People's Liberation Monument), usually shortened to 解放碑.
culture
Today the monument is dwarfed by surrounding skyscrapers of Chongqing's CBD, giving rise to the wry local observation that 解放碑越来越矮 ("Jiefangbei keeps getting shorter") as the city grows up around it.
