December 13 is China’s fourth National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims. A state memorial ceremony is held in Nanjing, east China’s Jiangsu province to remember the Massacre victims.

On December 13, 1937, Japanese invaders occupied Nanjing, the then-capital of China during World War II, and mercilessly launched a campaign of destruction, pillage, rape and slaughter in the city. More than 300,000 Chinese were killed by the Japanese troops in the subsequent six weeks. In February 2014, China’s top legislature designated December 13 as the national memorial day for victims of the Nanjing Massacre. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre.