China to expand Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-03-01 09:22

The Nanjing Municipal Government had decided to expand the existing Nanjing Memorial Hall of Compatriots Murdered in the Nanjing Massacre and build a world peace square and a park nearby, Xinhua News Agency reported Monday.

Li Xiuying, survivor of the Nanjing massacre in 1937 in which over 300,000 were killed by Japanese invaders, holds a red candle to commemorate the victims in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province.[newsphoto.com.cn]

The move is designed to mark the 60th anniversary of the victory in the world war against fascism, and the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in China (1937-1945).

The expansion project is expected to occupy an area of 180,450 square meters. The expansion, due to start Tuesday, was scheduled to be completed by the end of May, said a government official in charge of civil engineering.

More than 300,000 Chinese civilians were slain in the Nanjing Massacre, which occurred after the invading Japanese troops occupied the city Dec. 13, 1937.

Some 20,000 women were raped in the one-month atrocity and one-third of the houses in the city were burned down.

In 1985, the municipal government built a magnificent memorial hall at the Jiangdong Gate, for the 300,000 civilians and soldiers who were killed during the massacre.

The memorial hall was enlarged to 28,000 square meters in 1995.

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