Chongqing urges preservation of relics

Chongqing, the provisional capital when China fought invading Japanese forces from 1937 to 1945, needs to preserve its wartime relics, political advisers said.

The Chongqing branches of two non-Communist parties — the China Association for Promoting Democracy and the Jiu San Society — have proposed that the municipality step up efforts to protect its legacy from the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression.

"The cultural legacy from the war against Japanese aggression is one of the municipality's most valuable historic assets. However, it is also among the least well-protected aspects of the historic cultural heritage in the municipality," said Zhang Kemin, deputy chairwoman of the Chongqing branch of CAPD, during an annual session of the Chongqing committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Chongqing gained political prominence after the Japanese invasion. After Nanjing fell to the Japanese in 1937, Chong- qing became the provisional capital.

The city suffered many casualties and losses as the Japanese army attacked the city with its air force from 1938 to 1943 during the Bombing of Chongqing.

The city now has more than 600 relics from the period, half of which have been destroyed, according to another proposal by the Chongqing branch of the Jiu San Society.

Only 18.5 percent of the relics are well protected, the proposal said.

In the municipality's Ba-nan district, a prisoner-of-war camp for Japanese soldiers was used as a pigsty by local farmers, Chongqing Evening News reported. A graveyard for pilots who fought in the Bombing of Chongqing period was also beyond recognition.

"Those relics are priceless. However, now local residents cannot even find a place to mourn that historic period," said Han Ziyu, author of several books on wartime cultural relics in Chongqing.

The Jiu San Society proposal said: "The protection of those relics requires concrete plans and measures by authorities. Currently, the funding and staff devoted to the protection is far from adequate."

Zhang said promoting the municipality's wartime heritage will not only boost tourism but also enhance international cultural exchanges.

Kuang Youzhi, head of the municipality's archives bureau, said Chongqing and Taiwan will expand archives exchanges covering wartime heritage.

The municipality's archives will host one exhibition on wartime culture and land reform in Taiwan in September. It is also preparing for two more exhibitions in Taiwan in the next two years.

The municipality has already reconstructed some cultural relics in the past few years.

In November, a street that depicts life during Kuomintang times was opened in the Liangjiang New Area. It was also the location for the filming of the blockbuster Back to 1942.

The street received thousands of local visitors on the first day it opened, creating traffic congestion in the area, according to a news statement by the Liangjiang New Area.

"The popularity of the street also demonstrates that the wartime culture and reconstruction of cultural relics during that period has huge business potential as well, and it will certainly help boost tourism," the CAPD's Zhang said.