Japanese WWII concentration camp renovated in Shanxi

A project renovating a World War II Japanese concentration camp for Chinese civilians and prisoners of war in Taiyuan, capital of north China's Shanxi Province, ended earlier this week.

With local authorities planning to turn Taiyuan Camp into a museum, workers consolidated the dilapidated buildings and cleared away refuse.

Costing 2 million yuan (315,000 U.S.dollars), the renovation started in early August to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII.

Built in 1938, the camp imprisoned 100,000 to 120,000 Chinese. Some were used as forced labor, others were killed. The Japanese used many of them as live test subjects for biological experiments.

Since the end of the war, the buildings on the site have been used as storerooms for a machinery factory.

"Renovation is just the first step, the next is utilizing this historical site to help younger generations learn lessons from the past and cherish today's peace," said Liu Linsheng, who wrote a book based on his father's experiences as a prisoner in the camp. Endi