Reopened anti-Japanese war museum attracts Chinese visitors

Thousands of people visited the Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance against Japanese Aggression on Sunday. [Photo/Youth.cn]

More than 400,000 people have visited the Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance against Japanese Aggression since it reopened July 8 following a five-month renovation.

A special exhibition, "Great Victory Historical Contributions", chronicles the Japanese army's wartime atrocities and the Chinese people's defiance in 1,170 photos and 2,834 items on display. These pictures and artifacts cover politics, the military, diplomacy and people's livelihoods, Li Zongyuan, deputy director of the museum, said.

"Compared with the special exhibition with the same theme in 2005 for the 60th anniversary of victory in the anti-Japanese war, we put on display double the historic photos and almost triple the relics. We hope the visitors know more about the war through all these items. Every single photo and every cultural relic has passed our strict selection and textual criteria," Li said.

Li also stressed that the development of the museum reflects the great interest of the country and people to the history of the anti-Japanese war. Since it opened in 1987, 22 million people have visited the museum.

"0ur museum opened to the public for free in 2008. Since then, the number of visitors has increased, with an average growth rate of 20 percent every year. Meanwhile, the number of group visitors has decreased gradually, and the proportion of individual tourists has become higher and higher. This year, the proportion of group visitors is less than 40 percent. Such a change shows that our society, our guests from various circles take the museum as an important place to learn and cherish the memory of history," Li added.

During summer vacation, many parents take their children to the museum. A mother of an eight-year-old boy said in an interview withChina Youth Daily that she hopes he remembers this history.

"I discussed this with many parents of my son's classmates, and decided to visit the museum with him just before the parade on Sept 3. I want my boy to know why we need such a parade, why the school will give them one day off," she said.

"Our children get in touch with the Internet at quite a young age, and are easily attracted or even misled by something unreal, something untrue. I hope my child can understand this part of history the right way. China is a country that loves peace so much, but as a Chinese, we should keep the memory of the anti-Japanese war in mind," another mother visiting the museum said.

In addition to the museum's special exhibition, several cultural activities are planned to mark the 70th anniversary of victory.

A variety show will be staged on CCTV1 in the evening of Sept 3 and there will be a series of plays and operas with war themes on tour between August and October. About 70 plays and operas will be performed in eight areas around the country. Meanwhile, 20 related documentaries and three animated cartoons will be broadcast and 100 books displayed in succession in the country during the second half of the year.