From March 1, the museum commemorating victims of the Nanjing Massacre in late 1937 in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, will open to the public for free.

To make more people 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$602,410) 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 over 8 million visitors from home and abroad since its founding in 1985.

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

In 1997, the museum was named as an educational base of patriotism by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee and it was open to primary and middle school students for free.

Since then, the museum 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, the significance of which is invaluable," said Luo Zhijun, secretary of the Nanjing City Committee of the CPC.

(China Daily February 25, 2004)