Air-raid sirens sounded at 9:18 p.m. on Sunday and rang for three minutes at 227 places in Shenyang City, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, to mark the September 18 Incident 74 years ago.
Buses and cars in the street also stopped to toot their horns.
A group of 12 people selected from all walks of life struck a big bell 14 times to mark the city's 14-year fight against the Japanese invasion.
On September 18, 1931, the Japanese army blew up a section of the Dalian-Harbin Railway near Shenyang, and then accused Chinese troops of sabotage. The Japanese bombarded Chinese barracks near Shenyang that evening, thus starting a massive armed invasion of northeastern China. Japan then launched an all-out invasion of China over the following 14 years.
This is the 11th year that Shenyang has commemorated the event with air-raid sirens. The idea was first mooted by Hao Songqing, an 82-year-old Shenyang resident, 10 years ago.
"Sirens were sounded to remind people never to forget the history and national humiliation," said Zhang Yibo, honorary chairman of the Liaoning Provincial "September 18 Incident" Research Institute, who has long appealed to the government to make September 18 a "Day of National Humiliation."
Sunday, September 18 also happened to be the start of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Despite this, many young people in Liaoning Province preferred not to hold their wedding ceremonies then. The city's Association of Industry and Commerce called on its 15,000 member economic entities not to hold any festival celebrations. Rather, they were encouraged to hang the national flag as a mark of respect.
"I want my son to have a better understanding of the history and cherish the happy life we have today," said a lady surnamed Cui, who, along with her husband, brought their only son to attend the air-raid sirens ceremony that was held at the Memorial Hall of the September 18 Incident.
On the same day, several other official and non-official commemorative activities were held in different parts of the country.
In Beijing, more than 1,000 freshmen at the Engineering Academy of the Armored Forces pledged to join the service on Sunday morning at the Memorial Hall of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression.
"We hold such a ceremony at the memorial hall every year," said Li Zhiguo, a political commissar with the academy. "We want new servicemen never to forget the national humiliation, know their mission and contribute more to the national defense cause."
"I feel I'm lucky to live a happy life today and we all should cherish that," said 21-year-old Qiao Ning, a college student, who visited the memorial hall on Sunday.
In Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, many people flocked to the Memorial Hall of Victims of the Nanjing Massacre to mourn the dead.
Invading Japanese troops occupied Nanjing on December 13, 1937, and launched a six-week long massacre. Historical records show that more than 300,000 Chinese people, not only disarmed soldiers but also civilians, were slain during this time.
"We can not forget those who died in the war," said Zhu Chengshan, curator of the memorial hall, "We must work for the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation so that we can enjoy a peaceful and happy life of reunion forever."
A group of 38 people from the Japanese business community also visited the memorial.
They said, as the offspring of the Japanese soldiers who brought grief to the Chinese people, they apologized to Chinese people and would take the responsibility to work for the progress of mankind's civilization and for everlasting peace.
Like Shenyang, more than 100 Chinese cities sounded air-raid sirens and alarms to commemorate the day.
(Xinhua News Agency September 19, 2005)
