China holds national commemoration for Nanjing Massacre victims

Residents in east China’s Nanjing City paid their respects as China held a memorial ceremony on Friday to mourn the 300,000 victims of the Nanjing Massacre that took place during World War II.

At 8 a.m., China’s national flag was flown at half-mast at the square of the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders.

At 10:01 a.m., sirens began to blare. Drivers in the downtown area stopped their cars and honked their horns, while pedestrians paused for a moment of silence in remembrance of the victims.

More than 80 young people read aloud a declaration of peace, and citizen representatives struck the Bell of Peace. White doves, symbolizing hope for peace, were released to fly over the square.

In 2014, China’s top legislature designated December 13 as the National Memorial Day for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre, which took place when Japanese troops captured the city on December 13, 1937. The Japanese invaders brutally killed approximately 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers in over six weeks, marking one of the most barbaric and tragic episodes of World War II.

As of July 22, the number of registered Nanjing Massacre survivors had dwindled to just 32.

The Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, located at a burial site for massacre victims, opened to the public in 1985.

Since it became the main venue for the national memorial ceremony in 2014, the hall has attracted approximately 5 million visitors every year. It has received 125,278 comments from visitors so far this year, with a daily average of more than 400. Words such as “history,” “peace” and “remember” appear frequently among the comments.

(With input from Xinhua)