(Photo/Shao Dan)

A day before the 10th national memorial day for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre on December 13, the Nanjing Anti-Japanese Aviation Martyrs Memorial Hall opened an exhibition of historical materials related to the aerial defense against Japanese aggression during World War II.

The memorial hall houses the remains of martyrs, including pilots from China, the US and the former Soviet Union. The martyrs' cemetery was built by the government of the Republic of China in 1932.

The exhibition showcases 110 historical photos and more than 90 relics, including a cornerstone from the runway of Dajiaochang Airport built in 1929, donated by the Management Committee of South New Town of Nanjing earlier this year.

Among the artifacts are two swords from Japanese military officials at Japan's surrender ceremony in Taiwan on October 25, 1945. These swords were donated to the memorial hall on October 25, 2015.

Some items in this exhibition are being displayed for the first time. In 2023, the venue received the donation of 47 letters from the family of pilot Ding Shoukang. Ding died in an air battle in Chongqing on July 16, 1940, at the age of 25. These letters, written during the period of March 7, 1933 to July 16, 1940, represent the most comprehensive collection of its kind in that time. In 2017, he was posthumously recognized as a revolutionary martyr by the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

The exhibition also includes a leather jacket worn by a U.S. pilot, marked with burn scars and a blood chit sewn on the flying suit, which was used to inform locals that this pilot was fighting for China.

Among the notable exhibits, there is also a silk scarf donated by Ted Stevens (1923-2010), a former pilot of the Flying Tigers and later served as President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate. This scarf is printed with the geography of the southeastern coast of China, particularly an aerial view of Taiwan in the lower right corner.