Today is China’s National Memorial Day for the 1937 Nanjing Massacre. A ceremony has been held at the Memorial Hall in the eastern Chinese city.

Photo taken on Dec. 13, 2016 shows the scene of state memorial ceremony for China's National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims at the memorial hall for the massacre victims in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province. (Xinhua/Li Xiang)

Thousands of people observed a minute's silence to pay tribute. Around 300,000 people were killed by Japanese soldiers during their occupation of the former Chinese capital during World War II. The Declaration of Peace was read aloud and the Bell of Peace was rung.

In 2014, China set December 13 as a national memorial day for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre.

In a six-week period starting this day in 1937, Japanese soldiers committed indiscriminate murders and raped thousands of women.