A full-length symphony called The Ode to Peace was staged here Monday to remind the Chinese people of a special period in late 1937 when about 300,000 innocent Chinese people were slaughtered by the Japanese invaders in Nanjing, now the capital of east China's Jiangsu Province.

The purpose of the performance, the first of its kind in China, is to call upon all people to "take history as a mirror, look to the future and call for peace," the organizer said.

About 340 musicians from the Chinese mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong took part in the symphony, which is a prelude to a series of performances commemorating the 60th anniversary of the victory in the anti-fascist war in Europe and in the war against Japanese aggression (collectively called World War II in the west).

Li Changchun, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, met with the main musicians and gave his thanks for their hard work.
 
(Xinhua News Agency May 10, 2005)