August 15 this year marked the 77th anniversary of Japan's unconditional surrender. On the morning of that day, the Memorial Hall held an educational activity on the theme of "Nanjing Will Not Forget".

At 8.15 a.m., the ceremony of ringing the Peace Bell was held at the Public Memorial Square of the Memorial Hall. Six descendants of Nanjing Massacre survivors and representatives of Nanjing youths rang the Peace Bell together. The sound of the bell echoed over the square for a long time, warning people to remember the history, safeguard historical truth, safeguard national dignity and uphold peace and justice.

At 9.00 a.m., certificate awarding ceremony was held in the lecture hall of the Three Prevails Exhibition Hall to the descendants of Nanjing Massacre survivors as "heirs of the memory of the Nanjing Massacre". Thirteen descendants of survivors, including Xia Shuqin's granddaughter Xia Yuan and great-grandson Li Yuhan; Ge Daorong's son Ge Fengliang; and Ai Yiying's son Huang Xinghua and grandson Huang Rui, received their certificates from Xia Shuqin, Ge Daorong and Ai Yiying respectively. This means that the survivors' descendants have officially taken over the baton and the responsibility to pass on the historical memory of the Nanjing Massacre in the future.

Xia Yuan, the granddaughter of Nanjing Massacre survivor Xia Shuqin, said, "the Nanjing Massacre tragedy was one of the darkest pages in the history of China . I grew up listening to my grandmother's stories of the family's tragic experiences during the Nanjing Massacre. As a descendant of survivors, I will never forget this period. Since 2004, when my grandmother received her 'Certificate of Survivor of Nanjing Massacre' from the Memorial Hall, she told people that the truth about the Nanjing Massacre has been her most important task. Today, my son and I have received this certificate of the same value. In the future, we have an even greater responsibility to tell more people about this tragic experience of our family, so that the truth about the Nanjing Massacre will be passed on."

After the ceremony, Xia Yuan went to the family portrait of Xia Shuqin in the exhibition hall, to tell the audience about the tragic death of seven members of her grandmother's family of nine, who were massacred by the invading Japanese army in 1937.

Until now, there only 55 living registered survivors of the Nanjing Massacre. Their average age is over 92 years old. With time passing by, there are only fewer survivors.