Spring Festival heralds record number of visits to Nanjing Massacre museum

Yu Fangqing returned from the United States for the first time in 14 years in order to visit Nanjing, her hometown, for the Lunar New Year.

While home, she brought her 10-year-old son to visit the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, which details Japanese atrocities in the city during World War II.

"It's his first time in Nanjing, and I want him to know that part of history," Yu said.

Like Yu, a record number of visitors went to the museum during the Spring Festival this year. According to official statistics, the museum received 13,500 visitors on the first day of the holiday, three times more than last year.

"Traditionally, the Spring Festival is an off season for the museum, as people normally celebrate the new year at joyful places, but this year the number of visitors during the holiday surpassed any other days ," said Zhu Chengshan, the curator of the museum.

A total of 389,700 visitors came to the museum during the seven-day period. "It has never happened before," Zhu said.

Zhang Bing and his family of seven from central China's Hunan Province also visited the museum during the Lunar New Year holiday.

Zhang spent four hours in the museum, reading every exhibition board and reflecting in front of the wall naming the victims.

"We've watched the national memorial day ceremony on TV last year and decided to visit. The history of the pain should always be remembered so that we can cherish what we have now," Zhang said.

On Dec. 13, 1937, Japanese troops began six weeks of destruction, pillage, rape and slaughter in Nanjing. Historical records show that more than 300,000 Chinese, including unarmed soldiers and innocent civilians, were murdered.

The Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, is based in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province.

The Memorial hall, which houses original remains, sculptures and historical records of the massacre, has been free to the public since 2004.

Starting from 1994, Jiangsu Province and Nanjing City have given memorial assemblies on Dec. 13 every year to mourn the victims and promote peace.

In February 2014, China's top legislature designated Dec. 13 as the National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims to mourn those killed by Japanese invaders and expose war crimes committed by Japanese aggressors.

However, a Japanese rightist daily recently released a four-day report in which it denied the existence of the Nanjing Massacre, at a time when the world prepares to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII.

"I've heard about the report of the Japanese Sankei News and I think it's ridiculous. We really should invite those who wrote the news to the museum to see what had happened," said She Ziqing, a survivor of the massacre.

"The national memorial day and the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII both contributed to the increased number of visitors during the Spring Festival," said Zhu.

China has announced it would hold a military parade this year to mark its victory over Japan. It will be part of the worldwide commemorative events for the 70th anniversary of the victory of World War II.

There will also be commemorative activities organized by non-governmental forces to mourn the victims, which will be beneficial for the cohesion of people and the promotion of peace, Zhu said.