Monument to the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre at the Meitan Port by the Japanese Invading Army

The Monument to the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre at the Meitan Port by the Japanese Invading Army

The Monument to the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre at the Meitan Port by the Japanese Invading Army was established by the Nanjing Municipal People's Government in August 1985 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan and to mourn the compatriots who perished here at the hands of the Japanese invaders. It is now a national-level cultural relic protection unit. The monument is located by the river at the Meitan Port in Xiaguan. The memorial stands on the flood control wall of the river embankment, using a section of the flood wall as its base. At the junction of the embankment and the wall, a 30-centimeter-diameter cement wreath is inclined and embedded. The monument is 135 cm long, 90 cm wide, and 12 cm thick. The entire structure is simple, unadorned, and dignified.

Inscription on the monument: The Meitan Port is one of the major sites of atrocities committed by the Japanese invading army. On December 17, 1937, the Japanese army captured over 3,000 disarmed soldiers and civilians from various locations, detained them by the river downstream of the Meitan Port, and machine-gunned them to death. Those who were injured but not killed were herded into nearby thatched huts and burned alive. Among the victims were 45 employees of the Capital Power Plant, who perished in this tragedy. On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japan, this monument is erected to mourn the deceased, to warn future generations, to remember history, and to revitalize China.