CRI听力:Activities to Commemorate July 7 Incident Held across China

Top Chinese leaders, including President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, have visited the exhibition, entitled "Great Victories and Historic Contributions."

Xi Jinping says the exhibition is a reminder of the great history that all Chinese people should keep in mind.

"The spirit of the war against Japanese aggression and the spirit of the nation are still needed nowadays as we are realizing the Two Centenary Goals as well as the Chinese nation's great rejuvenation, during the period of reform and opening up. We should also keep the history in mind in order to create the future. We cannot forget it. Forgetting the past means betrayal. I believe that people can learn this through the exhibition."

The event was held at the Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance against Japanese Aggression near Lugou Bridge, also known as Marco Polo Bridge, in the southwest of Beijing.

It covers the history of the Chinese people's fight against Japan's aggression in the 14 years from 1931 to 1945.

A total of over 1,000 pictures and more than 2,800 war relics are on display.

It is part of the country's events being held in the run up to the 70th anniversary of the victory over Japan and the victory of WWII.

Meanwhile, in the eastern city of Nanjing where Japanese troops massacred at least 300,000 Chinese people in 1937, a group of college students visited several war veterans.

"We are planning to collate the records of the veterans' stories and memories. We're doing this as a salute to both the veterans and our country."

In Shandong Province to the north, armed police officers, soldiers and students presented flowers at a memorial hall in Zaozhuang City to remember those who died in the Taierzhuang Battle, the first major victory for the Chinese army during the war.

More than 30,000 Chinese soldiers died in the battle, but only 4,000 of them have been identified.

In Hong Kong, a number of organizations staged a march to urge the Japanese government to face up to its past military history.

Organizers urged Japan to take responsibility for its aggression and halt its current alarming military expansion.

An estimated 35 million Chinese soldiers and civilians lost their lives during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression,

For CRI, this is Qi Zhi.