Massacre Memorial Sites of Compatriots Killed in the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders (Zhengjue Temple)

Massacre Memorial Sites of Compatriots Killed in the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders (Zhengjue Temple)

The Massacre Memorial Sites of Compatriots Killed in the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders (Zhengjue Temple) is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The large-scale massacre organized by the Japanese army in Nanjing in 1937 left partial burial pit remains of 300,000 victims. These include 16 sites: Jiangdongmen, Xiwazicun near the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, Yijiangmen, Qingliangshan, Meitan Port, Beiji Pavilion, Zhongshan Wharf, Hanzhongmen, Caoxia Gorge, Shangxinhe, Wutaishan, Nanjing University, Yanziji, Yulei Camp, Huashenmiao, Zhengjue Temple, and Pude Temple. The sites themselves show signs of damage.

On December 13, 1937, the Japanese invaders captured Nanjing. In the following six weeks, they carried out an extremely brutal massacre against Nanjing citizens and Chinese soldiers, resulting in over 300,000 deaths. The massacre sites and mass burial grounds include Jiangdongmen, Xiwazicun near the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, Yijiangmen, Qingliangshan, Meitan Port, Beiji Pavilion, Zhongshan Wharf, Hanzhongmen, Caoxia Gorge, Shangxinhe, Wutaishan, Nanjing University, Yanziji, and 17 other locations. In December 1937, the Japanese army brutally massacred over 280,000 captive Chinese soldiers and fleeing civilians at Jiangdongmen, with as many as ten thousand people slaughtered in the marketplace alone. To commemorate the victims and remember history, in 1985 the “Memorial Hall for Compatriots Killed in the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders” was built next to the “Ten Thousand Corpses Pit” site at Jiangdongmen. A memorial stele was also erected at the massacre site and mass burial ground at Meitan Port, as well as another at Shangxinhe outside Shuiximen. The memorial hall at Jiangdongmen covers an area of 28,000 square meters, with a construction area of 3,000 square meters. It is divided into three sections: outdoor exhibition area, remains display, and historical materials display, comprehensively presenting the history of this atrocity through historical documents, cultural relics, architecture, sculptures, films, and more.

Confucius Temple Community: Located within the Confucius Temple tourist scenic area, the community spans 0.38 square kilometers, with 2,221 households and a total population of 6,174. The area features attractions such as the Zhanyuan Garden, Juxing Pavilion, Nanjing Qifangge Halal Restaurant, local snacks of the Confucius Temple, lantern festival viewing from Zhonghua Gate to Dongshuiguan, and the Qinhuai River scenic belt. Educational institutions in the area include Confucius Temple Primary School, Zhonghua Middle School, Finance and Economics School, and Aerospace Cadre Management College. Local facilities consist of Zhuangyuanlou Hotel, Jiankang Hotel, Shanghai Grand Hotel, City Inn, the Third Fire Brigade, Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Memorial Hall, Weihao Electric, and the Telecom Building... More details about Confucius Temple Community++

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units