A testament to courage and resistance
Brutality by Japanese invaders haunts elderly survivor of mass graves who vows to keep memory of atrocity alive, Wang Qian and Zhu Xingxin report in Datong, Shanxi.
Detailing the evolution of resistance, Guo says that from spontaneous acts of defiance by workers and locals to organized sabotage and strikes under the Communist Party of China, those years were a crucible of struggle for freedom.
Despite its profound significance, the museum struggles for recognition. "The Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, is widely known, and rightly so," Wang says. "Our story here, though equally vital, remains lesser known. Fewer visitors came in the past … I want to tell more people. This place represents the plunder of Datong's resources — it's a microcosm of the history."
Guo echoes: "Our core purpose is peace through remembrance. We must pass on this history to the next generation."
To Qian Kuibao, the museum is more than just a repository of bones, but a living call to confront the darkness of the past, to honor the silenced, and to tirelessly defend the peace bought with unimaginable sacrifice.
