In 1937, an estimated 300,000 Chinese in the eastern city were killed by Japanese invaders over a period of a month.  

Days burned into memory. On December 13th, 1937, Japanese soldiers captured the city of Nanjing. In the ensuing month, the Japanese carried out mass murder and rape of the city's residents. Over 300,000 people were killed.

The Nanjing Massacre, is also known as "the Rape of Nanjing".

Many Japanese nationalists and historians have played down the massacre, saying it was exaggerated, or even fabricated.

But these atrocities were tried by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East and the Nanjing War Crimes Tribunal. Both passed verdicts based on evidence presented at the hearing.

To mourn victims of the massacre, and bring to the forefront war crimes of the Japanese army, China set December 13th as a national memorial day. More than remembering Nanjing, the date is also a reminder of the calamities of war, and Chinese people’s tenacity for peace and safeguarding human dignity.

December 13th is the third National Memorial Day for victims of the 1937 Nanjing Massacre. The city government has organized a series of activities to commemorate those who died, including setting up wishing walls in the city's subway stations for members of the public to leave notes.