Japanese WWII surrender video debuted at China museum

Japanese representatives ride in a car with a white flag to circle the designated location. [Photo/Xinhua]

CHANGSHA -- A museum in central China's Hunan Province reopened after renovation on Saturday and debuted video footage documenting Japan's surrender in the province.

The 20-minute video, filmed by a U.S. Allies representative, shows the signing of a surrender memorandum by Japanese in Zhijiang, a major battlefield during the Chinese War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression(1937-1945).

On Aug. 15 of 1945, Japan announced the surrender and sent representatives to hand over a map of Japanese troops deployed in China and sign a surrender memorandum in Zhijiang between Aug. 21 and 23.

"It is an important testimony of Chinese people's victory," said Wu Jianhong, curator of the Memorial Hall of the Chinese War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the Acceptance of the Japanese Surrender.

The museum also displays 32 photos from a U.S. veteran to the public for the first time. They were among 223 wartime images donated in November by a member of the Flying Tigers, an American volunteer group formed in 1941 to help China drive out the invading Japanese troops.

The color pictures show Japanese in cars on their way to surrender after landing at Zhijiang Airport and surrender scenes in east China's Gaoyou City.

They also showed English newspapers reporting on the Japanese surrender and Chinese celebrations in Zhijiang.

To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, the museum had been closed for renovations since late 2014.