Nanjing Massacre survivors decreases to 37

NANJING -- Cheng Fubao, a Nanjing Massacre survivor, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 91, reducing the number of registered survivors to 37, according to the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders on Wednesday.

The Nanjing Massacre took place when Japanese troops captured the city on Dec 13, 1937. Over six weeks, they killed approximately 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers in what is deemed as one of the most barbaric episodes of World War II.

After the Japanese troops invaded Nanjing in 1937, Cheng's father escorted his family members out of the city to escape the massacre. However, Cheng's father was killed by the Japanese troops, while Cheng and the other family members survived.

In 1949, after the liberation of Nanjing, Cheng became a soldier of the People's Liberation Army.

The Chinese government has preserved the survivors' testimonies, recorded in both written and video transcripts. The documents on the massacre were listed by UNESCO in the Memory of the World Register in 2015.