A ceremony was held on Thursday at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders to mark the 85th anniversary of the Lugou Bridge Incident on July 7, 1937, recognized as the start of Japan's full-scale invasion of China and China's whole-nation resistance against the Japanese invaders. 

Representatives of Nanjing’s youths joined family members of Nanjing Massacre survivors in the event that started with a national flag-raising ceremony at 10 am and then a reciting of poems in honor of the resistance war by students from a primary school. Flower baskets were also laid to honor revolutionary martyrs and victims of the Japanese invasion and in Nanjing Massacre. 

Xia Yuan, granddaughter of Xia Shuqin, a survivor of the Nanjing Massacre, the senior’s great-grandson Li Yuhan, and together with Wang Li, a staff representative of the memorial hall, and Wang Bei, the memorial hall’s guide, shared stories and experiences in the event.  

In the memorial hall, an exhibition of historical facts on the massacre featured pictures of the Xia family. Xia said her grandmother gets old but she always reminds young people to cherish the life today.  

“My grandmother hopes the Japanese government will acknowledge the Nanjing Massacre when she is still alive,” said Xia. 

Contact us at english@jschina.com.cn