Nanjing Massacre victims remembered ahead of Qingming Festival

People lay flowers to victims of the Nanjing Massacre at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, April 3, 2024. (Xinhua/Li Bo)

NANJING, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Relatives of victims of the Nanjing Massacre, as well as survivors, the descendants of survivors and student representatives, on Wednesday gathered at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders to pay tribute to those who lost their lives 87 years ago.

Thursday is Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, a traditional Chinese festival during which people to pay tribute to the dead and worship their ancestors.

"My father was only 9 years old at the time. The war made him an orphan, and that painful memory stayed with him all his life," said Chang Xiaomei, whose late father was a survivor of the Nanjing Massacre, in front of a wall that bears the names of 10,665 victims.

Official figures show that there were just 36 survivors living as of early March.

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

Staff members present a flower basket to victims of the Nanjing Massacre at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, April 3, 2024.

Relatives of victims of the Nanjing Massacre, as well as survivors, the descendants of survivors and student representatives, on Wednesday gathered at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders to pay tribute to those who lost their lives 87 years ago.

Thursday is Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, a traditional Chinese festival during which people to pay tribute to the dead and worship their ancestors. (Xinhua/Li Bo)

Ai Yiying, a survivor of the Nanjing Massacre, lays flowers to victims of the Nanjing Massacre at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, April 3, 2024.

Relatives of victims of the Nanjing Massacre, as well as survivors, the descendants of survivors and student representatives, on Wednesday gathered at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders to pay tribute to those who lost their lives 87 years ago.

Thursday is Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, a traditional Chinese festival during which people to pay tribute to the dead and worship their ancestors. (Xinhua/Li Bo)

This photo taken on April 3, 2024 shows a memorial ceremony at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province.

Relatives of victims of the Nanjing Massacre, as well as survivors, the descendants of survivors and student representatives, on Wednesday gathered at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders to pay tribute to those who lost their lives 87 years ago.

Thursday is Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, a traditional Chinese festival during which people to pay tribute to the dead and worship their ancestors. (Xinhua/Li Bo)

Chen Deshou (2nd R), a survivor of the Nanjing Massacre, pays tribute to victims of the Nanjing Massacre with his relatives and friends at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, April 3, 2024.

Relatives of victims of the Nanjing Massacre, as well as survivors, the descendants of survivors and student representatives, on Wednesday gathered at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders to pay tribute to those who lost their lives 87 years ago.

Thursday is Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, a traditional Chinese festival during which people to pay tribute to the dead and worship their ancestors. (Xinhua/Li Bo)

Xia Shuqin, a survivor of the Nanjing Massacre, attends a memorial ceremony at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, April 3, 2024.

Relatives of victims of the Nanjing Massacre, as well as survivors, the descendants of survivors and student representatives, on Wednesday gathered at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders to pay tribute to those who lost their lives 87 years ago.

Thursday is Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, a traditional Chinese festival during which people to pay tribute to the dead and worship their ancestors. (Xinhua/Li Bo)

Ai Yiying (1st R), a survivor of the Nanjing Massacre, attends a memorial ceremony at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, April 3, 2024.

Relatives of victims of the Nanjing Massacre, as well as survivors, the descendants of survivors and student representatives, on Wednesday gathered at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders to pay tribute to those who lost their lives 87 years ago.

Thursday is Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, a traditional Chinese festival during which people to pay tribute to the dead and worship their ancestors. (Xinhua/Li Bo)

Nanjing Massacre survivors Ai Yiying, Xia Shuqin, Liu Minsheng, Chen Deshou (from R to L, front) attend a memorial ceremony at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, April 3, 2024.

Relatives of victims of the Nanjing Massacre, as well as survivors, the descendants of survivors and student representatives, on Wednesday gathered at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders to pay tribute to those who lost their lives 87 years ago.

Thursday is Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, a traditional Chinese festival during which people to pay tribute to the dead and worship their ancestors. (Xinhua/Li Bo)

Tamaki Matsuoka, founder of the "Connecting Memories of Nanjing" civil group, speaks during a memorial ceremony at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, April 3, 2024.

Relatives of victims of the Nanjing Massacre, as well as survivors, the descendants of survivors and student representatives, on Wednesday gathered at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders to pay tribute to those who lost their lives 87 years ago.

Thursday is Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, a traditional Chinese festival during which people to pay tribute to the dead and worship their ancestors. (Xinhua/Li Bo)

Ruan Jie, grandson of Nanjing Massacre survivor Ruan Dingdong, speaks during a memorial ceremony at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, April 3, 2024.

Relatives of victims of the Nanjing Massacre, as well as survivors, the descendants of survivors and student representatives, on Wednesday gathered at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders to pay tribute to those who lost their lives 87 years ago.

Thursday is Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, a traditional Chinese festival during which people to pay tribute to the dead and worship their ancestors. (Xinhua/Li Bo)

Xia Shuqin, a survivor of the Nanjing Massacre, lays flowers to victims of the Nanjing Massacre at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, April 3, 2024.

Relatives of victims of the Nanjing Massacre, as well as survivors, the descendants of survivors and student representatives, on Wednesday gathered at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders to pay tribute to those who lost their lives 87 years ago.

Thursday is Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, a traditional Chinese festival during which people to pay tribute to the dead and worship their ancestors. (Xinhua/Li Bo)

This photo taken on April 3, 2024 shows a memorial ceremony at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province.

Relatives of victims of the Nanjing Massacre, as well as survivors, the descendants of survivors and student representatives, on Wednesday gathered at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders to pay tribute to those who lost their lives 87 years ago.

Thursday is Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, a traditional Chinese festival during which people to pay tribute to the dead and worship their ancestors. (Xinhua/Li Bo)