State ceremony held for Nanjing Massacre victims

NANJING -- In front of the crowd in black, China's national flag flew at half-mast as the nation held a memorial ceremony Friday to mourn the 300,000 victims of the Nanjing Massacre.

Pinning a white flower, more than 8,000 people from all walks of life attended the sixth national memorial ceremony in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu province.

At exact 10:01 am, sirens started to blare and the city came to a halt. On the streets, drivers parked their cars and honked; pedestrians stood still and observed a moment of silence.

Eight large wreaths were presented to the memorial altar by guards of honor.

A total of 82 teenagers read aloud a declaration of peace and citizen representatives struck the Bell of Peace. Thousands of white doves representing hope for peace were released to fly over the memorial square of the Memorial Hall of the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders.

In 2014, China's top legislature designated Dec 13 as the national memorial day for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre, which took place when Japanese troops captured the city of Nanjing on Dec 13, 1937 and brutally killed around 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers in over six weeks, making it one of the most barbaric episodes of World War II.

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