Survivor of Nanjing Massacre passes away -- only 42 still alive

NANJING -- Zheng Jinyang, a survivor of the Nanjing Massacre, died on Tuesday evening at the age of 95. Her death reduced the total number of registered survivors to 42, according to the Memorial Hall of the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders.

The Nanjing Massacre took place when Japanese troops captured the then-Chinese capital on Dec 13, 1937. Over six weeks, they killed approximately 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers in one of the most barbaric episodes of World War II.

During the massacre, five of Zheng's relatives were brutally killed by the Japanese soldiers and her ancestral home was burned down by the invaders.

The great pain of losing her loved ones lingered on throughout the rest of her life. "Decades have passed, but I have never forgotten," Zheng once said.

In 2014, China's top legislature designated Dec 13 as the national memorial day for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre.