[File photo]

Tuesday marks the 79th anniversary of the Nanjing massacre.

A series of memorial activities are being staged in the city, where more than 300,000 people, mostly disarmed soldiers and civilians, were murdered in the space of just six weeks in 1937 by Japanese forces.

79 years ago today, Japanese troops broke into Nanjing and then started a six-week massacre in the capital of then Nationalist government.

Chinese records show more than 300,000 disarmed soldiers and ordinary people were killed while thousands of women were raped.

Since the beginning fo December, wish walls have been erected in some of the city's busiest subway stations, inviting passengers to put up notes or writing down how they feel about the bloodshed as well as their wishes for the future.

One of the walls has been placed in Guo Xiang's station.

"Our Xinjiekou subway station is the largest in passenger flow in Nanjing, with about 130,000 people passing here a day. We have put up the wall at the No. 24 exit, where the passenger flow is not very big. Although not so big, it has won enthusiastic response. See that part of the wall, it is full, with some people leaving notes wishing for peace in the world."

Cong Xiaoyu is a local resident.

"The Nanjing massacre is, in fact, a matter concerning the whole world, as it was the result of war. This time every year, the sirens are sounded and all the vehicles have to stop to observe a minute of silence mourning the victims. We have experienced the event from the day we were born. We will never forget it."

The wish walls are part of the series of memorial activities this month.

Over the weekend, 110 new names were added to a memorial wall at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, bringing the total number of names inscribed on the wall to 10,615.

The "wailing wall", as it's known, was set up in 1995 with an initial 3,000 names inscribed on it, representing the 300,000 victims of the massacre.

More names were added in 2007, 2011, 2013 and 2014, after the identities of more victims were confirmed.

91-year-old Yang Cuiying is a massacre survivor.

"As long as I am alive, I will tell more people about my experiences in the Nanjing Massacre, tell them never to forget the history."

This year's third memorial day comes just a few days after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced a planned visit to the U.S. Pearl Harbor later this month, reportedly to remember the thousands killed by Japan's surprise attack 75 years ago.

The Chinese authorities have called on Japan to make a deep self-examination of what it also did during the World War II to the Chinese people.

On Monday, a new book on the Nanjing massacre was published, consisting of around 200 documents and images from China, Japan and other countries which participated in the post-war trials.

Coinciding with the anniversary, a new three-episode documentary providing rare footage of the Tokyo Trials will begin airing across the country.

It contains some rare footage that will be broadcast for the first time in China.