On August 15th, the openingceremony of the New Museum of War Crime Evidence of Japanese Unit 731 was heldin Harbin, Heilongjiang Province.

The construction of themuseum is a primary national project undertaken by South China University ofTechnology. It is designed by faculty members from Schoolof Architecture, including HeJingtang, an academician of ChineseAcademy of Engineering, and Ni Yang, a well-knownarchitect in China.

Unit 731 was a covertbiological and chemical warfare research and development unit of the JapaneseArmy that conducted lethal human experimentation in Chinaduring the Japanese invasion of China in1930s and 1940s.

The Unit was based at thecivilian district of Harbin, a major city in Northeast China. At least 3,000 innocent civilians and POWs were killedduring the human experimentation conducted by Unit 731.

Through three spaces ofmetaphor, which are named as Scars of Earth, Black Box of Crime Evidences, andAccusation and Rethinking, the New Museum of War Crime Evidence of JapaneseUnit 731 is designed as a “black box” to expose the war crimes committed by theJapanese invaders.

The tour of the exhibitionstarts from the Preface Hall, which is a space dominated by three huge lightingdevices. Symbolizing thousands of deaths caused by the inhumaneexperimentation, the design is a metaphor of the funnels of body incineratorsbuilt by Unit 731.

The three lighting devicesindicate the three kinds of war crimes committed by the Japanese Army duringits invasion of China-- germ warfare, gas warfare and human experimentation.

Following the Hall ofContemplation, which is the central section of the “black box”, the images ofthe “funnels” reappear as monuments at the second level of the museum,reminding visitors to remember the history, and to cherish peace.

The opening ceremony of themuseum, planned by the state government and held by the Heilongjianggovernment, is one of the crucial activities of China to commemorate the 70thanniversary of the victory of Chinese Anti-Japanese War and World Anti-FascistWar.

Revealing and accusing theatrocities committed by Unit 731, the activity mourns for all the people whosacrificed their life during the fight against the invaders, the victimsof the Japanese germ warfare, and other Chinese people killed in the war.

The activity also encouragespeople to remember the history, to commemorate the martyrs, to cherish peace,as well as to create a brighter future.

Representatives from Ministryof Culture, State Administration of Cultural Heritage and the Heilongjiang government attended the ceremony.

From the SCUT News Network