The story of the Northeast United Resistance Army is an unforgettable chapter in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War.
The army was the main guerrilla force in Northeast China during the war against Japanese aggression and was renowned for its courageous guerrilla tactics, resilience in harsh conditions and unwavering commitment to resisting against overwhelming odds. The army engaged in a difficult 14-year struggle deep in the mountains against the Japanese invaders, making a significant contribution to both the national war effort and the global fight against fascism.
To mark the 80th anniversary of victory in the resistance war, a Special Exhibition of Relics from the Sites of the Northeast United Resistance Army opened on Saturday at the Museum of the Communist Party of China in Beijing. The exhibit puts the remarkable efforts of the army in the spotlight through the display of 1,289 artifacts.
According to Meng Qingxu, leader of the excavation team at the Hongshilazi site in Panshi, Jilin province, the first anti-Japanese guerrilla base established by the CPC in the northeastern region, this is the first comprehensive display of their archaeological finds. Recent finds by archaeologists at the Jiguanshan site in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, another significant base for the resistance army, are included in the exhibit.
"Many of the artifacts on display are newly unearthed and without systematic organization. But they have been transported here to celebrate the important occasion of the 80th anniversary of our victory in the war," said Meng.
By depicting the living conditions of the army from spring through to winter, curators aim to offer visitors a sense of the harshness of the soldiers' lives in the mountains.
"In the past, we often talked about the secret camps of the Northeast United Resistance Army soldiers on the mountains, but we may not have a real understanding of what their living environment was like," Meng added.
"In recent years, through archaeological studies, we have unveiled many details of how they lived and fought."
This includes the crude semi-subterranean buildings built by the soldiers, models of which are on display at the Beijing exhibit.
"By recreating such buildings in the exhibition hall, we want to offer people a visual representation of the heroic past," Meng said.
"In the 20th century, why should these people leave their comfortable homes and move to the mountains, living in such a rugged environment for years? They just wanted to protect their motherland."
The exhibition will run until February next year.
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