Nanjing, Jiangsu province, was the focal point of a national ceremony commemorating the 300,000 victims of the Nanjing Massacre on Wednesday, the 86th anniversary of the start of the murderous rampage by invading Japanese troops in 1937.

At 8 am, the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders conducted a flag-raising and half-masting ceremony in honor of the victims.

Sirens echoed across Nanjing, Jiangsu province, and the city came to a halt at 10:01 am on Tuesday as China held its ninth national memorial ceremony to mourn the 300,000 victims of the Nanjing Massacre.

At the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, the national flag flew at half-staff, soldiers placed wreaths beside the memorial and thousands of people stood at the square with white flowers pinned to their chests to convey their condolences.

In 2014, the Standing Committee of National People's Congress, China's top legislature, designated Dec 13 as the national memorial day for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre.

When China started to register the survivors of the massacre in the 1980s, more than 1,000 were still alive.

With seven survivors of the massacre passing away this year, the number of registered survivors is currently 54.

Ma Tingbao, a survivor of the massacre, said that he hopes China and Japan can pass the spirit of friendship from one generation to another.

- The people of Nanjing observed a minute of silence, and sirens were heard across the city, as China proceeded with its ninth national memorial ceremony Tuesday to mourn the 300,000 victims of the Nanjing Massacre.

White doves, symbolizing hope for peace, were released to fly over the square of the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders.

The Nanjing Massacre took place when Japanese troops captured the city on Dec 13, 1937.

In 2014, China's top legislature designated Dec 13 as the national memorial day for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre.

Seven survivors of the massacre passed away this year, reducing the total number of registered survivors to 54.

These records of the massacre were listed by UNESCO in the Memory of the World Register in 2015.

An exhibition featuring an overseas collection of historical artifacts concerning the massacre, including a camera that captured the atrocities and audio files of Japanese invading soldiers, opened on Tuesday at the memorial hall.

Thirteen descendants of Nanjing Massacre survivors, who were recognized as China's first batch of inheritors of memory of the Nanjing Massacre, attended the memorial ceremony on Tuesday.

They are from the families of ten survivors of the massacre.

In April this year, Wang Heng, one of the massacre survivors, died at the age of 100.

His granddaughter Wang Lian said she helped the centenarian open his online account last year to tell about what he witnessed in the massacre.