Party members and students from the Kunming Hi-Tech Zone gathered at the Yunnan Normal University, the former site of the historic National Southwestern Associated University, to honor revolutionary martyrs on April 3, the day before the Tomb-Sweeping Day.

Participants respectfully laid flowers and wreaths at the monument for the martyrs who lost their lives during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression 70 years ago. They then visited the War Memorial Hall at the university.

Present at the memorial ceremony were officials from 13 local government departments and institutions within the Zone, including the bureau of quality supervision, Yan’an Hospital and Asia-Pacific Environmental Protection Institute.

Students and officials from the Kunming Hi-Tech Zone visit the former site of National Southwestern Associated University to honor revolutionary martyrs on April 3, Kunming, Yunnan province. [Photo/kmhnz.gov.cn]

Related information: National Southwestern Associated University

Nankai University in Tianjin municipality was bombed to the ground and occupied by the Japanese Army along with other two of the country’s leading universities in Beijing, namely, Peking University and Tsinghua University when the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression broke out in 1937.

These three universities then decided to merge to form the National Southwestern Associated University in Kunming, capital of the Southwest China’s Yunnan province although most faculty and students had to leave to fight the Japanese invaders.

Over the eight years of war, the staff and students of the associated university suffered from bombing campaigns and dire shortages of essentials needs. However, they managed to maintain the running of the university and cultivate many prominent scholars and scientists.