List honors sites from war against Japan's aggression

Chinese-American Lu Zhaoning (right) donates 128 photographs, newspapers and other cultural relics from the 1937 Nanjing Massacre to the Memorial Hall for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, on Monday. Yang Bo / For China Daily

The State Council has issued a list of 80 State facilities and sites that commemorate the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45) ahead of the 69th anniversary of the country's victory on Wednesday.

The list, the first of its kind in China, according to State Council circular issued on Monday, includes Lugou Bridge in Beijing and the Memorial Hall for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre.

The list names sites that commemorate events related to Japanese war crimes, surrenders and court trials. It also includes locations where Chinese forces led by the Communist Party of China and the Kuomintang fought Japanese invaders.

Also on Monday, the Ministry of Civil Affairs announced a list of 300 martyrs and heroic groups who sacrificed their lives during the Japanese invasion of China in the 1930s and 1940s.

The ministry's list included names from the CPC-led Eighth Route Army, New Fourth Army, the South China Guerrillas, the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, and other anti-Japanese militia resistance forces as well as the names of officers and soldiers from the KMT.

The circular called for stronger protection and management of the historical sites and called on local government departments to organize memorial activities to inform the public, especially youths, about the Japanese war crimes and the Chinese feats in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression.

China's resistance to the Japanese invasion was an important part of the world war against fascist.