Hunan University preserves legacy of wartime history

Reminders of that period still stand nearby. Just a short walk from the Red Building, four Ionic columns rise from the former site of the university library, destroyed in April 1938. Completed only five years earlier, the library had been celebrated for its scale and design, said Li Yuwei, an assistant professor at the School of Architecture and Planning. Today, fragments of the columns remain in place, while sections of two were moved to the main campus gate as a memorial.

Across the grounds, traces of artillery fire can still be found on historic buildings tucked among trees and newer construction. For Long, such scars are not just relics but lessons. "Remembering is not about nurturing hostility toward other nations," he said. "It is about drawing courage from the past and cherishing the peace we have today."

Peng Yi, a doctoral student, said the visit deepened her appreciation of the university's wartime sacrifices. "It is essential for young people like us to remember our wartime heroes, and carry forward the spirit of resistance," she said.