The museum commemo-rating victims of the 1937 Nanjing Massacre in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, will be open to the public at no charge.

The idea is to allow more people to become acquainted with the massacre committed by Japanese aggressors. The Nanjing City Committee of the Communist Party of China and the city government decided to subsidize 5 million yuan (US$602,400) for the museum to open free to the public.

As the first museum in China commemorating the War of Resistance Against Japan from 1937 to 1945, the museum has received more than 8 million visitors from home and abroad since its founding in 1985.

During the 1985-97 period, the museum has charged half price to primary and middle school students and people over 60. On December 13 every year, the anniversary set aside for victims of the Nanjing Massacre, the museum has been open to the public for free.

In 1997, the museum was named an educational base of patriotism by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee and it was open to primary and middle school students at no charge.

Since then, the museum has witnessed a sharp rise in visitors. In recent years, the number of visitors has been over 600,000 a year, 100,000 of whom are from abroad.

As one of the top three massacres during World War II, over 300,000 Chinese civilians and disarmed soldiers were killed and thousands of houses were ruined by Japanese aggressors during the six weeks of bloodshed and looting, leaving the city in almost total devastation.

"Our aim is to make more people, especially the youth, acquainted with the history of the Chinese people to fight against Japanese aggressors," said Luo Zhijun, secretary of the Nanjing City Committee of the CPC. "The significance is invaluable."

(China Daily February 26, 2004)