CCTV9英语新闻12月：南京大屠杀遇难同胞纪念馆举行活动（在线收听）

Today marks the 76th anniversary of the Nanjing massacre. A prayer assembly for peace has been held in the square outside the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall.

People mourn victims at the Memorial Hall of Victims in the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu province, Dec 12, 2013. [Photo/Icpress.cn]

People stood in silence and sirens sounded at the beginning of the ceremony. Wreaths were laid, and bells were rung

More than 5,000 people have attended this year’s event, including local residents, students, victims’ families, survivors of the massacre, as well as representatives from International Institute of Peace.

A Nanjing citizen representative read out the Nanjing Peace Declaration. A series of events will be held, including press conferences and seminars this afternoon. A report on preserving survivors’ oral histories will be presented and a Sino-US collaborative project on oral history studies will be announced.

People visit the Memorial Hall of Victims in the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu province, Dec 12, 2013.  [Photo/Icpress.cn]

A chrysanthemum is presented in front of a memorial wall in which the names of the Nanjing Massacre victims are engraved at the Memorial Hall of Victims in the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu province, Dec 12, 2013. [Photo/Icpress.cn]