NANJING — China held a national memorial ceremony on Dec 13 to mourn the 300,000 victims of the Nanjing Massacre committed by Japanese invaders in 1937.

The ceremony was held by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council at the square of the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders in Nanjing, the capital city of Jiangsu province in East China.

The commemoration proclaimed the Chinese people's firm stance on learning from history to create a bright future and their noble aspiration for adhering to the path of peaceful development, said Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan when addressing the ceremony.

Sun, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, was joined by about 3,000 people from all walks of life wearing white flowers on their lapels.

Under the leadership of the Party, the Chinese people have realized the first centenary goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects as scheduled and embarked on a new journey to build China into a great modern socialist country in all respects, Sun said. She added that China's national rejuvenation became a historical inevitability.

"It is the greatest consolation to the victims of the Nanjing Massacre, the martyrs, and all those who died during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression," Sun said.

Following Sun's speech, 84 teenagers read out a declaration of peace. Six citizen representatives struck the Bell of Peace. A total of 3,000 white doves, symbolizing peace, were released over the memorial square.

In 2014, China's top legislature designated Dec 13 as the national memorial day for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre, which took place when Japanese troops captured the city on Dec 13, 1937.

The Japanese invaders brutally killed about 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers during the six-week massacre, making it one of the most brutal episodes of World War II.