Event mourns victims of Nanjing Massacre

"I hope that I can contribute more to the country's prosperity and the world's peace when I grow up," he said. "I also hope that more students will share my wish and make their own efforts."

Lu Zhaoning, a Chinese-American collector, donated historical materials related to the massacre to the memorial hall. As one of the strikers of the Bell of Peace this year, he said the sounds stood for a remembrance of the past, cherishing peace and ensuring that history will never repeat itself.

"History is getting further away from us with each passing day," Lu said. "I will continue to collect historical materials related to the Nanjing Massacre. We will have regrets if we don't explore and preserve them now."

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

Since 2014, the number of visitors to the memorial hall from around the world has exceeded 8 million people annually. Even during the pandemic, the average number of visitors per year remained over a million, according to the memorial hall.

When the wailing wall of the memorial hall was established in 1995, it originally had on it the engraved names of 3,000 victims. Over the past 28 years, it has undergone several additions and the number of names has increased to 10,665.

While tangible documents and other relics establish an indisputable historical record, survivors of the horrific atrocities have also stepped up to testify about what they experienced in those awful days.

But with time and old age, fewer of their voices can be heard. Many have died; only 38 eyewitnesses are alive today.

Guo Jun contributed to this story.