Japanese watchtowers, common sights in China and symbols of Japan's atrocities committed in China during World War II, are being rebuilt to woo tourists.

Wang Quanxi, a farmer in north China's Hebei province, invested 900,000 yuan (about 112,000 US dollars) to restore an old watchtower and similar fortifications to their original appearance, hoping that thousands of people will visit the site.

In the village where Wang lives, Japanese troops built 22 watchtowers to guard against the Chinese army in the 1940s. Many soldiers and even villagers were fatally shot by machine-guns perched on the towers.

Wang, 64, who got rich thanks to the market-driven economy, said he spent so much on the tower project because people should not forget the Nazi atrocities.

In recent years, many World War II sites across the country have been remodeled into tourist parks to attract visitors, especially the young people who are curious about the war.