(Xinhua/Qiu Bingqing)

The Memorial Hall of the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders recognized 10 descendants of massacre survivors as "inheritors of historical memories of Nanjing Massacre" on August 15.

Two survivors of the massacre, Liu Minsheng and Fang Suxia, joined Zhou Feng, curator of the memorial hall, and Professor Zhang Lianhong of Nanjing Normal University, in granting certificates to the inheritors.

Tao Xinyi, born in 1999, is the great-granddaughter of survivor Huang Guilan, and the youngest among the ten individuals recognized on the day. Currently a student at the Nanjing University of the Arts, Tong said she often visits the memorial hall with her friends and classmates to learn about the history. As family member of the massacre survivor, she feels a responsibility to pass on the historical memories.

The 10 descendants, along with students and volunteers, later visited the statues of Minnie Vautrin and John Rabe, reading excerpts from their diaries recording the massacre. They also read the diary of Cheng Ruifang, the first Chinese to record the killings by Japanese soldiers.

The memorial hall also held a ceremony to mark the Nanjing Massacre, with 12 descendants of Nanjing Massacre survivors striking the Peace Bell at 8:15 am, reminding people to always remember history and safeguard the truth. At 9:00 a.m., the memorial hall held a "lights out" ceremony to mark the recent passing of those survivors.

The average age of the remaining 39 registered survivors is over 93, and the mission of passing on historical memories is gradually being handed over to the survivors' descendants.