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United by a massacre
By Global Times - Xinhua Source:Global Times-Agencies Published: 2012-12-13 20:50:04
Soldiers present wreaths during a memorial ceremony at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders in Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu Province, on December 13, to mark the 75th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre. Photo: Cai Xianmin/GT
Starting early morning on Thursday, both gloomy and cold, people from all walks of life in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province, swarmed onto the square in front of the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders.
They came in organized groups or went there voluntarily to commemorate their relatives, ancestors killed in atrocities by Japanese troops 75 years ago.
More than 300,000 Chinese people, including children and the elderly, were massacred after Japanese troops occupied the city in December 1937.
At 10 am, sirens wailed for over 30 minutes across the whole city, alerting the people to remember their history and steel themselves to prevent similar pain in the future.
Earlier in the morning, 200 monks from Buddhist temples in Nanjing and Japan braved the cold and started a praying ceremony, chanting mantras in front of a "weeping wall" outside the memorial hall, on which the names of all the victims killed during the massacre were engraved.
Following this, an international peace rally joined by about 9,000 people from many countries, including the US, Canada, South Korea and Japan, was held on the square outside the memorial hall.
"It (the Nanjing Massacre) is one of the darkest chapters in modern civilization for human beings," Yang Weize, secretary of the Nanjing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, said in a keynote speech at the rally.
"As we review history and mourn the dead, we engrave the lesson in our minds that falling behind will leave us grievously wounded, and only development can make us strong," he stated.
Various solemn presentations took place during the ceremony, such as silent tributes and the laying of large wreaths. The rally ended with the release of doves to symbolize peace.
"We believe such events are good practices to promote world peace," said Zhu Chengshan, director of the memorial hall.
Global Times - Xinhua
They came in organized groups or went there voluntarily to commemorate their relatives, ancestors killed in atrocities by Japanese troops 75 years ago.
More than 300,000 Chinese people, including children and the elderly, were massacred after Japanese troops occupied the city in December 1937.
At 10 am, sirens wailed for over 30 minutes across the whole city, alerting the people to remember their history and steel themselves to prevent similar pain in the future.
Earlier in the morning, 200 monks from Buddhist temples in Nanjing and Japan braved the cold and started a praying ceremony, chanting mantras in front of a "weeping wall" outside the memorial hall, on which the names of all the victims killed during the massacre were engraved.
Following this, an international peace rally joined by about 9,000 people from many countries, including the US, Canada, South Korea and Japan, was held on the square outside the memorial hall.
"It (the Nanjing Massacre) is one of the darkest chapters in modern civilization for human beings," Yang Weize, secretary of the Nanjing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, said in a keynote speech at the rally.
"As we review history and mourn the dead, we engrave the lesson in our minds that falling behind will leave us grievously wounded, and only development can make us strong," he stated.
Various solemn presentations took place during the ceremony, such as silent tributes and the laying of large wreaths. The rally ended with the release of doves to symbolize peace.
"We believe such events are good practices to promote world peace," said Zhu Chengshan, director of the memorial hall.
Global Times - Xinhua
A man cries as he touches the engraved name of his grandfather, killed in the Nanjing Massacre. Photo: Cai Xianmin/GT
Thousands attend a memorial ceremony outside the memorial hall on December 13. Photo: Cai Xianmin/GT
Children lay flowers in front of the Mass Grave Site before entering the memorial hall. Photo: Cai Xianmin/GT
Visitors read archives of the massacre victims inside the hall. Photo: Cai Xianmin/GT
Earlier in the morning on Thursday, 200 monks from Buddhist temples in Nanjing and Japan braved the cold and started a praying ceremony, chanting mantras in front of a "weeping wall" outside the memorial hall, on which the names of all the victims killed during the massacre were engraved. Photo: Cai Xianmin/GT
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