A set of pictures which apparently show two Chinese men proudly wearing the uniforms of WWII Japanese soldiers have caused an outcry in China.
The pair were stated to have posed for the photos with mock weapons in jing, eastern China, where some 300,000 people killed by the Japanese army during the jing Massacre in 1937.
The massacre memorial in jing has condemned the two men's behaviour on a social media statement, saying they were 'making fun of the nation's scar'.
The pictures, shared on social media, show two Chinese men donning Japanese soldier's uniforms and happily posing for pictures. The pictures were stated to be taken in jing, China
The photos in questions, three in total, were yesterday uploaded to Weibo, the Chinese equivalent to Twitter.
The two men, with their faces obscured, can be seen styling themselves after war-time Japanese soldiers. One of them held a sword, and the other a bayonet and a Japanese flag.
The uploader of the pictures claimed that the two men were Chinese and the pictures were taken at the Zijin Mountain in jing.
The two men were stated to be standing in front of a fortification, which was used by the Chinese army to defend jing before the massacre occurred.
Along with the pictures, the uploader wrote: 'It's a shame that the soul of the great heroes who fought the Japanese are being trampled on by unfilial grandchildren.'
The two men were stated to be standing in front of a fortification, which was used by the Chinese army to defend jing against Japanese soldiers before the jing Massacre occured
The Weibo user, known by the screen name 'God's Eagle_5zn', stated that the pictures were provided to him by sources, and they had initially been shared by the two men who were in the photos.
The user told MailOnline that the two men's behaviour was 'extremely ugly'.
'No matter what was the reason [behind the photos], [they] shan't tread on a nation's painful memory,' the user said.
The pictures have been widely shared by Chinese state media. Enraged web users took to the social media to express their anger.
The jing Massacre, also known as the king Massacre, was an episode of mass murder and mass rape committed by Japanese troops against the residents in 1937
Some 300,000 people were stated to be killed by the Japanese army in the space of six weeks
In a social media statement last night, the jing Massacre Memorial Hall condemned the behaviour.
The museum's director Zhang Jianjun said: 'We express strong condemnation and indignation towards those who take pictures for fun while wearing the uniforms of Japanese soldiers who invaded China.'
Mr Zhang stated the museum would strengthen its patriotic education on visitors.
Mr Zhang also called on relevant authorities to improve the moral education on young people and to establish relevant laws to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
The jing Massacre Memorial Hall (pictured) has condemned the behaviour in a statement
jing Massacre is one of the most painful memories to the Chinese people. The country holds a national memorial service every year for those who were killed by the Japanese
Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) and Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Yu Zhengsheng (right) attended the memorial service on December 13, 2017
The Second Sino-Japanese War, also known in China as the Anti-Japanese War, took place between 1937 and 1945. It later became a part of the WWII's south-east Asian Theatre.
The eight-year warfare remains as a sensitive and painful topic among the Chinese, and anti-Japanese sentiment still runs high in the country.
Just six months ago, four Chinese men were detained by police after posing for a picture outside a war memorial site in Shanghai dressed like WWII Japanese war officers during a military party.
The country holds a national memorial service for the jing Massacre every year.
How did the jing Massacre happen? A bloodbath that saw 300,000 Chinese killed
More than 300,000 Chinese are reported to have been murdered during the notorious 'Rape of jing' by the Japanese in 1937
On December 13, 1937 Imperial Japanese troops invaded the capital city of jing where they ransacked, pillaged and slaughtered civilians for six weeks.
The city was essentially abandoned by Chinese Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-Shek who called for the removal of most official troops following a brutal loss in Shanghai.
He forbade official evacuation of civilians and ordered the untrained troops left to defend the city at any cost.
The soldiers who remained were tracked down by the Japanese and killed. They were lumped into mass graves along with civilians who happened to be in the way. They even had killing contests to see who could get the highest body count.
Decaying bodies filled the streets and the safety zone which was established for the protection of civilians was ignored. As stated by History.com, the safety zone was about the size of Central Park.
In addition to the slaughtering of 300,000 people in six weeks, women were raped in the thousands. There were 40 military brothels in the city alone where Japanese soldiers would rape women as young as 12 years old. They were referred to as 'comfort women'.