China Focus: 80 years on, WWII stories still captivate Chinese youth

Pupils participate in a sports game ahead of the International Children's Day at a school in Anshan, northeast China's Liaoning Province, May 30, 2025. - Photo: Xinhua

BEIJING: As International Children's Day fell on Sunday (June 1), 10-year-old Zhang Shucheng excitedly opened his gift -- a book that brings to life the dramatic story of the Chongqing bombing during World War II (WWII).

Japanese warplanes indiscriminately bombed Chongqing, then China's provisional capital, and nearby cities more than 250 times between 1938 and 1944, killing and injuring more than 32,000 people.