On the morning of March 15, the International Youth “Reading the City” program was held at the Memorial Hall. Young participants from Switzerland, Thailand, Indonesia and other countries and regions visited the Memorial Hall, engaging in an immersive experience of “reading the architecture, reading the history, and reading the language of flowers”, through which they connected with the city’s memory and reflected on the true meaning of peace.

At the Statues Square, Chang Xiaomei, an inheritor of the historical memory of the Nanjing Massacre, recounted the family story behind a statue modeled on her father Chang Zhiqiang and his family. Anna, a young visitor from Russia, remarked that this history belongs not only to China, but is also an integral part of world history, and that young people around the world should come here to remember it.

While visiting the Nanjing Massacre Exhibit, a Swiss participant, Bai Yiling, noted that the exhibition panels were presented in Chinese, English, and Japanese. She commented, “Although the Japanese government may not wish for its younger generation to learn about this history, once Japanese youth enter this Memorial Hall and read the Japanese-language introductions, they can come to truly understand what happened here.”

In the Epilogue, young participants from various countries and regions recited passages from The Good Man of Nanking: The Diaries of John Rabe in both Chinese and English. Tran Chi Kien from Vietnam said that young people have a responsibility to pass on the truth and not let such tragedies repeat.

The event concluded at the Peace Square, where international youth listened to the story of Zijin Cao and experienced the resilient and unyielding spirit of the city of Nanjing.