Martyrs' remains arrive at final resting place

A burial ceremony for the remains of 109 Chinese soldiers killed during the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-53) was held in Shenyang, Liaoning province, on Friday morning.

The remains were buried in the Chinese People's Voluntary Army Martyrs' Cemetery in Shenyang.

A total of 109 fallen soldiers and 1,226 of their personal belongings were excavated from six areas in the Republic of Korea between 2019 and 2020. The remains and items were laid to rest in caskets on Wednesday morning in Incheon and transported back from the ROK via a People's Liberation Army Air Force Y-20 transport aircraft on Thursday morning.

The burial ceremony began at 10 am. Escorted by armed PLA soldiers, the caskets of martyrs were slowly carried to their final resting place. The national anthem of the People's Republic of China was played at the scene, and the attendees, about 300 people, sang the anthem together.

To pay the highest tribute to the martyrs, the participants bowed three times, and 27 soldiers fired ceremonial shots into the air. Later, the participants laid flowers to pay their respects.

A total of 2.9 million Chinese People's Volunteer Army soldiers fought in the war, and about 197,000 died in combat.

The ROK began to recover the remains of fallen soldiers in 2000, and since 2014 the ROK has returned the remains of 825 Chinese soldiers.

Such cooperation has demonstrated that China and the ROK have risen above the divide of history and are willing to open up a bright future of peace and friendship, the Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

China would like to continue to work with the ROK to help bring more remains of Chinese soldiers back to the motherland, ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said, adding that he believes China-ROK friendly cooperation will achieve greater development with joint efforts.