"What can I contribute as an ordinary Chinese? I try to encourage everyone around me not to buy Japanese products. You think that's senseless? No, it's the most rational way of showing my anger at Japan's distortion of history," he said. "Most of the time, Chinese people just blame Japan on online forums, but they don't put their words into action."

Sun Xiaohua, the daughter of Sun Cunyu, who commanded a company at the battle, said, "As a family member, I'm very unhappy to see my father buried in the same cemetery as his enemies."

"But at the same time, I see the way the locals dealt with the problem as a humanitarian gesture," said the 60-year-old retired accountant.

Although Sun's father survived the battle, the injuries he sustained troubled him for the rest of his life. As he lay dying in Beijing in 1985, the old soldier made a final request and asked to be buried alongside his comrades in Zhujiagang. His grave stands apart from those of the fallen.

"I have no comment about the potential resurgence of imperialism in Japan. It's so impudent as to defy reason. It's beyond words. I hope the descendants of the Japanese soldiers and younger Japanese people will come to Zhujiagang, to see the grave of their ancestors in person," Sun said.

"I'm sure they would feel a sense of shame if they stood in front of the grave, on the land ravaged by their forefathers."

Xu Changliang, Yu Lihui and Liu Wenlong contributed to this story.

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