The Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders

The Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders is a solemn place. It shows the terrible crimes Japan committed when it occupied Nanjing. This special history museum keeps real proof of China's pain. It is both the main place to display this tragic history and the national site for China's Memorial Day.

Highlights of The Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders

Sculpture Square

The statue of Destroyed Family

The Memorial Hall's entrance square uses sculptures to show the horror of the Nanjing Massacre. A 12.13-meter-tall statue called "Destroyed Family" stands in the middle. Its height marks December 13, 1937, which is the date when the Nanjing Massacre occurred. It shows a mother crying, holding her dead child. Her clothes are torn, and her face looks painful as she cries out to the sky. Ten bronze figures stand beside this main statue. They look like they're running away: old people walking slowly with canes, women running with babies, children looking back in fear. Their twisted bodies match what survivors said happened. A black granite "Wall of the Dead" has the number of victims (300,000) in 11 languages. It sits over mass graves, with layers of small stones under it to show this sad truth. A bronze bell in the center of the plaza is rung every year on December 13 for national memorial ceremonies. These artworks are like witnesses. They make the terrible numbers feel like real human suffering, still making visitors shiver as they stand where Nanjing's streets once ran red with blood.

Memorial Zone of Evidence

Victims' Names Wall

The Mass Grave Site and Victims' Names Wall are clear proof of history. The main display is built right over where the Jiangdongmen massacre happened, keeping the original evidence. Through the glass, visitors see layers of bones—twisted arms and legs, broken skulls, some holding things like broken toys or personal items. These are proven to be from 1937. Nearby, there are displays with details of how they were dug up, who the victims were, and how they were buried. Next to this is the gray granite "Wailing Wall," with over 11,000 real names carved on it. Small holes in the wall let you see green plants behind, showing that life goes on. A 40-meter bronze path has 222 survivors' footprints. Statues like "Ni Cuiping" and "Peng Yuzhen" stand beside it, helping visitors understand what the witnesses said. Bronze reliefs in the south show four parts: Plunder, Slaughter, Mourning, and Destruction. They tell how the tragedy happened step by step. When visitors see the real bones and so many names, they know this is not just a story but a real hell. The quiet halls are filled with soft breaths and falling tears, making people remember forever.

Historical Documents Exhibition Hall

The wall of victims' photos inside the exhibition hall

The memorial's main building is a semi-underground tomb-like structure. It holds The Human Catastrophe: Nanjing Massacre Historical Exhibition. This display has over 3,500 photos, 3,300 items (like Japanese military maps, violent videos and victims' things), and 149 documentaries. They are arranged by time into parts: pre-war tensions, occupation, atrocities, international rescue efforts, evidence destruction, and postwar trials. Key shows include John Rabe's diary of rescues, Minnie Vautrin's handwritten notes on protecting women at Ginling College, repentant letters from Japanese soldiers like Azuma Shiro, and original safety zone armbands. Life-size copies of wartime scenes—ruined streets, comfort stations, court settings—work with sounds to make you feel like you're there. Interactive displays like "12-Second Meteors" (each star stands for one person who died every 12 seconds during the six-week massacre) visualize the tragedy's scale. Changing documentaries, like The Nanjing Massacre Through Foreigners' Eyes, highlight what foreigners saw. The hall links to Three Victories（justice, peace and the people shall prevail） and Comfort Women shows (in other places) to show the planned wartime crimes. With careful display of evidence and survivors' stories, visitors see not just facts but lasting moral duties—from Rabe's margin notes to Vautrin's protective gestures - revealing humanity's resilience amid darkness.

Peace Park

Peace Statue

Emerging from the historical exhibition hall, visitors enter the transformative space of Peace Park, where architectural symbolism shifts dramatically toward hope. The Victory Wall is made of rust-colored steel. Its deep red surface shows the nation's strength. Curved, it has carvings of wartime victory, postwar trials and peace work—fitting the idea "Justice, Peace and the People Shall Prevail." At its heart rises a 30-meter white marble Peace Statue, its nine-tiered base representing China's collective prayers for harmony, the figure's outstretched arms cradling doves amid multilingual peace inscriptions. Surrounding this centerpiece, purple magnolia sculptures and memorial trees planted by Japanese pacifists materialize the philosophy of "remembering history beyond hatred." The expansive lawn and reflecting pool mirror the ship's-prow design of the memorial building, creating contemplative spaces where visitors process grief before embracing reconciliation. This change from dark to light—with peace bells ringing and reconciliation flowers blooming—turns thinking about history into a real promise for world peace.

Recommended Visiting Order

The core experience logic of the entire visit starts with the shocking opening at the Sculpture Square, moves to the evidence-based accusation in the Memorial Zone, proceeds to the historical cognition in the Historical Documents Exhibition Hall, and finally reaches the spiritual elevation in the Peace Park, forming a complete emotional chain of "grief and indignation—shock—reflection—prayer". The memorial is not only a historical museum but also a peace education base—it uses the blood and tears of the victims as teaching materials to warn of the cruelty of war and call on humanity to jointly safeguard dignity and justice.

Educational Value

The Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders turns this national trauma into a tangible historical experience via artistic installations, physical evidence, archival documentation and spatial symbolism. Gazing at tear-stained sculptures, tracing names on the memorial wall, listening to survivors' testimonies—each act serves as both a solemn tribute to lost lives and a renewed commitment to peace.

Activities to do at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders

Memorial Activities: Visitors entering the memorial can get white chrysanthemums—China's traditional flowers for mourning—by scanning QR codes and donating any amount at the Sculpture Square. They can place these flowers at important spots like the Victims' Names Wall (called "Wailing Wall"), Mass Grave Site and Iris Chang Statue to honor Nanjing Massacre victims. This activity helps keep history in mind through active remembrance. The donations may also go to medical care and funeral costs for massacre survivors and "comfort women" victims.