Veteran builds memorial hall to honor sacrifices of northeast forces

Rows of photos of key generals who fought in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression line a wall inside the museum. [Photo/He Keyao/chinadaily.com.cn]

A private memorial hall to commemorate the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Forces opens in Harbin, marking the 70th anniversary of end of WWII. It is the first private memorial complex of its kind.

Seventy years ago, the northeast of China first experienced the Japanese invasion, kicking off the decade-long war to defend the country. The Northeast Anti-Japanese United Force was the first army to defend the country, making great contribution to the national defense victory.

The force cooperated with the Russian Far-East Army in the later period of the war when tens of thousands soldiers scarified their lives for their country. The force was compiled into the Soviet Workers-Peasants Red Army's Independent 88th Infantry Brigade in 1942.

The exhibition area of the memorial hall is spread over 1,000 square meters, with a slew of historical photos, documents and statues of war generals on display.

The hall was founded by Wang Jun, a veteran and president of Sanwu group. He once served the People's Liberation Army in the 1970s before setting up his own business. With soldierly sentiments in his heart, he invested 80 million yuan ($12.5 million) in 2010 and built a museum campus of military culture. The memorial hall is one part of the building complex.

"I want the next generation to know what happened to their fathers and grandfathers and how they get what they have today," Wang said." The generals had the spirit that we should pass on."

The complex is open to the public from 9am-16pm, free of charge, and closes on Mondays.