People visit the Temple of Heaven in Beijng, capital of China, Oct. 17, 2020. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

 
Some rare historical photos, including some depicting horrifying Japanese wartime experiments in China, debuted on Monday at the opening ceremony of an exhibition in Beijing commemorating the 600th anniversary of the establishment of the Temple of Heaven, a World Cultural Heritage site. 

Built in 1406, the Temple of Heaven in Beijing is the largest surviving ancient architectural complex in the world. It was used by emperors of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties as the site for annual ceremonies to pray to Heaven.

The exhibition consists of 10 sections showing the restoration, transformation and protection of the Temple of Heaven over the years. 

According to Yuan Zhaohui, deputy director of the Cultural Research Office of Temple of Heaven Park, the exhibition features a total of 268 valuable historical photos, many of which are being exhibited for the first time. These include historical photos showing the major renovation of the Temple of Heaven that took place in the 1930s. 

The photos also show the dark history that took place near the site through evidence of the biological experiments the Japanese army carried out on Chinese civilians during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1931-45).

The unit responsible for these experiments, which killed an estimated 1,000 people, was stationed near the Temple of Heaven. 

Global Times