Massacre survivor passes away at 93

With the passing away of a 93-year-old survivor of the Nanjing Massacre on Sunday, the number of survivors has declined to only 35, according to the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders.

The survivor, Liu Suzhen, was born in November 1931. When she was 3 years old, her father passed away and she relied on her grandparents for support, who were living on Tongren Street in Nanjing.

In 1937, Liu Suzhen was only 6 years old when the massacre took place. She was once scalded on her right arm by the Japanese using boiling water.

"We dug a hole with mud in Gaopozi on Shanghai Road and hid inside," Liu once recalled. "The sound of airplanes bombing above was deafening. Both adults and children were too scared to go out... It was very tragic, life was really tough."

In her teens, impoverished Liu became a child bride and raised three daughters and a son. During an interview before her passing, she said, "We must not forget the suffering we endured in the past. We must remember it firmly. Only by knowing suffering can we understand sweetness."