Thursday marks the 70th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre. Over ten-thousand people gathered this morning in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province.
They inaugurated an extension of the Memorial Hall of the Victims. The hall houses remains, sculptures and historical records of the massacre, in which over 300,000 people were slain by Japanese invaders.
Seventy years on, this sound reminds people of Nanjing's darkest days.
In 1937, the city serving as China's capital suffered one of its history's most brutal crimes.
Over forty days, Japanese invaders butchered more than 300,000 people. Most of them were civilians, many were women and children.
This year, the city has expanded the memorial hall of victims, from 2,500 square meters to nearly ten times of that.
Thousands attended the memorial service for the inauguration.
The mourners also passed a declaration, calling on " all the peace-loving people to be united in building a peaceful, harmonious and reconciliatory new world."
And in Suqian city, local schools held photo exhibitions on the massacre.
A student said, "I am shocked by these photographs. I think what the Japanese aggressors have done in Nanjing is brutal."
Various commemoration activities took place across the province.
Organizers want to make sure people will never forget history and will learn from it.
