The inheritors of historical memories regarding the Nanjing Massacre pose for photos with the Nanjing Massacre survivors Ai Yiying (6th L) and Liu Minsheng (7th L) in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Oct. 11, 2024.
For many years, it has been an annual routine for Ai Yiying to mourn her lost relatives at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders.
Ai Yiying was a little girl when the Nanjing city was invaded by Japanese army in December 1937. Ai's father, uncles and cousins were taken away from their home and killed by the Japanese soldiers. The rest of the family had to hide to avoid the raping and killing.
Her family was not the only victims. As many as 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers were killed during the six-week massacre after Japanese troops captured Nanjing on Dec. 13, 1937.
"History should not be forgotten. My greatest wish is for more people to learn the truth about the Nanjing Massacre," said Ai.
Ai has been to Japan to attend testimony meetings to share her memory of the massacre in 2014. And her son, Huang Xinghua, was recognized as an inheritor of historical memories regarding the Nanjing Massacre to pass on the baton of telling the truth about the massacre. (Xinhua)
Ai Yiying (2nd R), a Nanjing Massacre survivor, searches for the names of her relatives, the victims of the Nanjing Massacre, in front of the "wailing wall" outside the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Dec. 1, 2024. (Xinhua/Li Bo)
This photo taken on April 3, 2024 shows Ai Yiying (2nd R, front), a Nanjing Massacre survivor, attending a commemoration ceremony at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, on the Qingming Festival, or the Tomb-Sweeping Day, a traditional Chinese festival during which people pay tribute to the dead and worship their ancestors. (Xinhua/Li Bo)
This file photo taken on Dec. 3, 2015 shows Ai Yiying, a Nanjing Massacre survivor, standing on the place where her relatives were killed by the Japanese invaders in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province. (Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng)
Ai Yiying (R), a Nanjing Massacre survivor, talks with her son Huang Xinghua at home in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Dec. 7, 2024. (Xinhua/Li Bo)
Ai Yiying (1st L), a Nanjing Massacre survivor, attends the family commemoration for victims of the Nanjing Massacre in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Dec. 1, 2024. (Xinhua/Li Bo)
Ai Yiying, a Nanjing Massacre survivor, walks in the community where she lives in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, April 3, 2024.(Xinhua/Li Bo)
This file photo taken on Dec. 3, 2015 shows Ai Yiying, a Nanjing Massacre survivor, displaying a photo taken when she attended a testimony meeting in Japan in December 2014, at home in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province. (Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng)
This photo taken on April 3, 2024 shows Ai Yiying (3rd R, front), a Nanjing Massacre survivor, participating in commemoration activities at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, on the Qingming Festival, or the Tomb-Sweeping Day, a traditional Chinese festival during which people pay tribute to the dead and worship their ancestors.(Xinhua/Li Bo)
Ai Yiying, a Nanjing Massacre survivor, waters flowers at home in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Dec. 7, 2024. (Xinhua/Li Bo)
Ai Yiying (3rd L), a Nanjing Massacre survivor, attends the family commemoration for victims of the Nanjing Massacre in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Dec. 1, 2024. (Xinhua/Li Bo)
This file photo taken on Dec. 7, 2014 shows Ai Yiying, a Nanjing Massacre survivor, telling about personal experience in the Nanjing Massacre when she attends a testimony meeting held in Osaka, Japan. (Xinhua/Ma Xinghua)
Ai Yiying, a Nanjing Massacre survivor, talks with her family at home in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Dec. 7, 2024. (Xinhua/Li Bo)
This file photo shows Ai Yiying, a Nanjing Massacre survivor, visiting the Summer Palace in Beijing, capital of China, in the 1990s. (Xinhua)
