More than 3,000 Buddhists gathered Monday to mark the 60th anniversary of the Chinese victory over Japanese aggression during the World War II.

Headed by Yi Cheng, president of the China Buddhist Association, the Buddhists burned joss sticks and kowtow before Buddha statues amid waves of melodious Buddhist songs and prayers for permanent world peace.

Following a prayer for world peace, representative Buddhists from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan held a memorial ceremony for the Chinese soldiers and civilians slaughtered by the Japanese aggressors.

"We are sincerely praying for the reunification of Taiwan with the motherland and the prosperity of the Chinese nation," said the representatives. "We pray for the replacement of wars with peace for this world, in which people may live a happy life."

In the notorious Nanjing massacre in 1937, hundreds of Chinese monks were slaughtered by the Japanese troops one by one while chanting sutras together with more than 30,000 local residents.

"We should take history as a mirror and face the future so as to promote peaceful co-existence between different countries," said Sheng Hui, vice president of the association.

(Xinhua News Agency August 15, 2005)