Exhibition launched to commemorate China, UK cities under WWII attack

OXFORD - A joint exhibition by Oxford University and a Chinese library was launched Monday to commemorate two cities that underwent bombing attack during the Second World War.

The exhibition, "Twin Cities under Attack: London and Chongqing during World War Two", displays historical images of the London Blitz and the Chongqing Bombing, documenting the painful experiences of the two war-time cities that were heavily bombed by Germany and Japan respectively.

The event, jointly curated by the Oxford University China Center and Chongqing Library, aims to mark the "unyielding spirit shared by the people living in these two cities in the face of the suffering", according to Nie Hongping, curator of the exhibition and also a research associate at University of Oxford China Center.

"The wartime efforts of Britain and China embodied a similar aspiration to unite against fascism," she said.

The exhibition aims to understand one of the most tragic stories of the war-time bombings targeting the two cities, said Rana Mitter, director of the University of Oxford China Center and Oxford professor of the History and Politics of Modern China, adding that the unique exhibition will show the comparison and contrast between the two war-torn cities.

Mitter is also the author of the book Forgotten Ally: China's World War II, 1937-1945.

The photographs displayed at the exhibition, mostly from the Imperial War Museum, the Chongqing Library and the Chongqing China Three Gorges Museum, bring together stories of perseverance and determination by the citizens of the two cities.

"In the face of severe aerial bombardment by the Germans and Japanese that intended to force surrender, people in London and Chongqing defiantly resisted and undertook a wide range of anti-air raid activities," said Zhang Bo, deputy head of Chongqing Library.