Eighty-two years ago, in the village of Liulaozhuang in East China's Jiangsu Province, 82 Chinese soldiers sacrificed their lives to protect the local people from an overwhelming Japanese force twenty times their number. When the villagers learned of their deaths, they selected 82 young men to join the military unit, earning the village the title of "Hero Village of Liulaozhuang."
This historic moment came to life in a program called "The Immortal Liulaozhuang" during a gala celebrating the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's Resistance against Japanese aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, held Wednesday evening at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
The gala evening, with the motto "Remembering history, paying tribute to fallen heroes, cherishing peace and looking to the future", lasted about 90 minutes. It featured songs and dance performances that portrayed key moments of China's 14-year-long resistance to Japanese aggression and brought to life the stories of the hard-fought struggle that constituted the main eastern battlefield of the World Anti-Fascist War.
By depicting the resistance of the Chinese army and civilians against the much stronger Japanese army, the programs showed the great spirit of resistance that was born during the war. This was manifested in the Chinese people's conviction that the fate of the nation was their responsibility, in their unwavering belief in national integrity that gave them the strength not to give up even in the face of certain death, in the heroism that gave them the courage to fight to the very end, and in their stubborn, unbreakable faith in victory.
In addition to commemorating historical events and heroes, the programs, covering 80 years of China's development, also focused on celebrating the country's achievements over the past decades, expressing the aspiration and vision of a new era in which China is moving forward to build a better life based on the profound lessons of history.
Passing on the spirit of resistance
A large number of young directors and scriptwriters born in the 1990s participated in the production, directing and producing some of the gala's programmes and portraying the spirit of resistance through their own eyes.
Just as young people were at the forefront of China's struggle against aggression then, so today they are at the forefront of efforts to keep alive the spirit of resilience and resistance.
More than half of the performers were young people in their twenties who gained a deeper understanding of the sacrifice of their predecessors, the spirit of resistance and the importance of valuing peace.
Today, China has embarked on a path to achieve Chinese modernization in all aspects, which requires more and more Chinese people, especially the young, to carry forward the spirit of resistance, develop their greatest passion, and devote their strength and abilities to the efforts for the great rebirth of the Chinese nation.
English 
Czech 
Spanish 
French 
Italian 
Russian 
Chinese 
German