标签： Asia

In an extraordinary act of historical preservation, 15-year-old Yu Ningpeng from Xuzhou, Jiangsu province has donated significant wartime artifacts to the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders. The high school student, who began collecting historical items at age six, has dedicated nine years to assembling evidence countering Japanese right-wing attempts to distort invasion history.

The donated materials include two particularly revealing documents: a December 18, 1937 battlefield letter sent by a Japanese lieutenant to Fukushima prefecture, bearing a distinctive ‘Nanjing Fall Memorial’ postmark, and a photographic album from the Japanese military’s Hanami unit containing 44 rare images documenting a field hospital establishment in Tianjin.

The lieutenant’s correspondence vividly describes the capture of Nanjing: ‘Our destination, the capital Nanjing, was finally captured by us on the 13th. On the 17th, we held a grand entry ceremony for the military commander and received a review.’ Meanwhile, the photo album provides unprecedented visual evidence of military medical operations, showing hospital layouts, laboratory facilities, supply rooms, and patient wards.

Yu acquired these artifacts through secondary trading platforms at considerable personal expense, investing over 20,000 yuan without parental financial support. ‘All the expenses for the collection were earned through my own insight and knowledge,’ the teen collector revealed.

The donation ceremony on December 5 marked Yu’s seventh visit to the memorial hall since its 2007 reopening, though his first as an official donor. His contribution comes amid increased public engagement with historical preservation, as the museum has received 573 artifacts this year alone—a 30% increase over previous years.

Yu emphasizes that historical remembrance serves educational rather than retaliatory purposes: ‘Remembering history is not about perpetuating hatred, but about learning from it.’ The aspiring archaeologist advocates for Sino-Japanese youth exchanges grounded in historical accuracy, stating that friendship should not come at the expense of truth. His ultimate goal remains clear: ‘We must work hard to learn skills and make the country stronger so that historical tragedies do not repeat themselves.’

In the formidable Altay Mountains of China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, a specialized unit of border police has adapted to one of the country’s most challenging environments through an unexpected tool: horses. Operating from the Kanas Scenic Area Border Police Station at 1,324 meters above sea level, these officers patrol 817.63 square kilometers of rugged terrain bordering Kazakhstan, Russia, and Mongolia.

The region transforms into a treacherous winter landscape for half the year, with temperatures plunging to -30°C and snowdrifts reaching three meters deep. Under these extreme conditions, conventional vehicles become useless, forcing officers to rely on equestrian patrols to maintain border security and provide emergency services.

Station chief Zhu Peicai, a 15-year veteran of these harsh conditions, emphasizes that ‘riding a horse is as essential for us as driving a police car.’ His team of 24 officers and seven auxiliary personnel—with an average age of 29—serves a diverse community of 1,037 residents from six ethnic groups, approximately 80% of whom are Mongolian.

The dangers these officers face are substantial. Beyond the constant threat of avalanches and hidden crevasses, they regularly rescue tourists lured by the area’s spectacular winter beauty but unprepared for its dangers. In October alone, the station rescued over 140 stranded visitors, including a major operation on October 1 when 110 tourists became trapped in the remote Black Lake area without communication capabilities.

Officer Wang Yicheng describes the patrols as essential preventive measures: ‘Once the snow falls and freezes, the trail often becomes a death trap. Without a telephone signal, anyone stranded faces hypothermia within hours.’

The physical toll on officers is severe, with some experiencing such intense saddle sores from extended missions that they must sleep on their stomachs for days. The team also recalls near-fatal incidents, including a harrowing avalanche in January last year that buried 200 meters of road and trapped over 1,000 tourists.

Beyond emergency response, the officers serve as community mediators and grassroots administrators. A simple wooden table outside their station has become a hub for dispute resolution, with a remarkable 100% mediation success rate. Their annual accomplishments include handling over 900 rescue calls, saving more than 300 tourists and herders, and recovering approximately 4 million yuan in economic losses.

Despite the isolation and danger, these officers have developed a profound commitment to their mission. As Political Commissar Wang Jia expressed after planting the national flag at the China-Russia border marker: ‘Standing there, seeing the flag flutter against the snow, every ache is worth it.’