Some 200 foreign guests from 34 countries, most of whom were diplomatic envoys, experts, journalists and their relatives, visited an exhibition at the National Museum dedicated to the Nanjing Massacre of 1937 on Monday evening in Beijing.

"People, especially the youth, should always remember this part of history. It is really terrible," said Gariballa Khidir Ali, consul of the Embassy of the Republic of Sudan. "I have heard of many horrible stories on the Nanjing Massacre before. But pictures and objects provide a more vivid picture of what happened during that period of time to me. It has really far surpassed my imagination," he said.

"It is my honor to be invited to this exhibition," said Gao Rui (Daniel Cogez), a French national and expert with the China International Publishing Group (CIPG). "I just want to say world peace is the most important thing for us."

"We must try our best to make sure such things never happen again. I really don't know how to express my feelings now. People should admit the history. It is a very good exhibition. I believe it is useful. It would very helpful to the youth to come to the exhibition," Pensy Kendly, a British tourist, said.

The exhibition on the Nanjing Massacre of 1937 was opened in Beijing on August 10 to mark the 60th anniversary of victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

"The aim is to ensure young people remember this painful part of history and to give foreign friends a comprehensive and objective understanding of the Nanjing Massacre," Zhu Chengshan, curator of the Memorial Hall of the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre and organizer of the exhibition, said.

More than 300,000 Nanjing inhabitants were killed after the city fell to invading Japanese troops on December 13, 1937.

The 20-day exhibition at the National Museum in Beijing is sponsored by the provincial government of Jiangsu. The exhibition is divided into seven parts: Nanjing Occupied, Nanjing Massacre, Atrocities in the International Safety Zone, Historical Record, Historical Trial, Witness of History and Enlightenment of History. There are over 600 pictures and 753 objects on display. According to Zhu, 80 percent of the materials are being shown to the public for the first time.

Last night, visitors penned their thoughts on paper doves and stuck them on a wall at the exhibition. Most of the messages read "Never forget history" and "World Peace."

(China.org.cn by staff reporter Wu Nanlan August 23, 2005)