China holds national memorial ceremony for Nanjing Massacre victims

China holds its eighth national memorial ceremony for the Nanjing Massacre victims at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, Dec. 13, 2021. [Photo by Li Bo/Xinhua]

NANJING, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- In front of the darkly-dressed crowd, China's national flag flew at half-mast as the country held its eighth national memorial ceremony Monday for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre.

Despite the winter chill, about 3,000 people who observed epidemic prevention protocols attended the ceremony in Nanjing, in east China's Jiangsu Province, with white flowers on their lapels conveying condolences.

At exactly 10:01 a.m., sirens started to blare and the city came to a halt. Drivers in the downtown area stopped their cars and honked; pedestrians paused for a minute of silence in remembrance of the victims.

Teenagers read out a declaration of peace and citizen representatives struck the Bell of Peace. White doves, symbolizing peace, were released over the square of the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders.

As a representative of the survivors' families attending the ceremony, Zhang Xueping was immersed in memories. On the morning of Dec. 13, 1937, a group of Japanese soldiers broke into her mother's home and killed seven of her nine family members.

"Mom has been very upset these two days, and I know she must be missing her loved ones," Zhang said.

China holds its eighth national memorial ceremony for the Nanjing Massacre victims at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, Dec. 13, 2021. [Photo by Li Xiang/Xinhua]

People from all walks of life gathered voluntarily at a dozen burial sites for Nanjing Massacre victims across the city. Zang Qiong, a teacher at the Nanjing Vocational Institute of Mechatronic Technology, was dressed in black and held chrysanthemums in her hand at the city's Zhongshan Pier mass grave.

"I want more young people to remember the Nanjing Massacre and draw strength from it," Zang said. She has been bringing her students to attend the ceremony for many years.

In subway stations, people stopped to watch the ceremony live on television, some holding newspapers with front pages in black and white. The homepages of Chinese websites were also in black and white.

The Nanjing Massacre took place when Japanese troops captured the city on Dec. 13, 1937. Over six weeks, they killed more than 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers in one of the most barbaric episodes of World War II.

In 2014, China's top legislature designated Dec. 13 as the national memorial day for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre.

Eleven victims of the massacre have passed away this year, reducing the total number of registered survivors to 61.