Hailar: Tale as old as the grassland (3)

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The 280-year-old Hailar is now a modern city in Inner Mongolia. (China Daily/ Wang Kaihao)

The city of Hailar was first built in 1734, and has become the political, cultural and economic center of Hulunbuir since then.

I continue my exploration of local history and find the relics of a huge underground fortress that was completed in 1937 by Japan's Kwantung Army during its occupation of Hailar until the end of World War II in 1945.

The fortress once covered an area of 21 square kilometers and had a complex structure to guard against the former Soviet Union. It is one of the biggest fortifications built in Northeast China.

The relic is now renamed Anti-Fascism War Memorial Park to honor the united efforts of Soviet Union, Mongolia and China against Japanese invasion and in memory of the victims of the war.

In the park is an exhibition hall with articles from both sides of the war. Part of the maze-like fortress is open to the public.

The cold and moist underground reminds me of the miserable history. I pray in front of a site with remains of Chinese laborers forced by Kwantung Army to dig the tunnels.

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