Chinese President Xi Jinping led a high-powered delegation of national leaders Saturday at a moving ceremony honoring the deaths of tens of thousands of Chinese citizens in the December 1937 Nanjing massacre.

Marking the 77th anniversary of the brutal action by Japanese troops, the first-of-its-kind ceremony at the Nanjing Massacre Museum came amidst a growing movement in China to remember the war and renewed East China Sea tensions between the two nations. China and Japan also have been at odds ever since the war over details pertaining to the conflict.

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Xi addressed students, soldiers and survivors of the massacre criticizing Japanese ultra-nationalists who he said, denied that a massacre took place.

Estimates vary concerning how many people perished in the atrocity that began as Japanese troops entered the city. Low-ball estimates claim 40,000 civilians died. Official Chinese estimates put the death toll at 300,000 people. Another 20,000 women were believed to have been raped during the six weeks of mass chaos, looting, arson and death.

Saturday's commemoration was part of a new movement raising the profile of wartime memories of the war. Three new holidays were observed this year to remember the conflict.

Saying that those who uphold justice and love peace "must be highly vigilant and firmly oppose those wrong words and deeds," Xi added, "history will not permit anyone who would deny the facts of the Nanjing atrocity."

About 10,000 ceremony attendees at the museum hall and people throughout Nanjing observed a minute of silence at 10 a.m. followed by the sounding of what was called the largest air raid siren in the world.

Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the National People's Congress and Wang Yi, Chinese foreign minister, were among the high-profile participants in the ceremony. The event was broadcast live on CCTV state television.

The broadcast began with black-and-white photographs from the massacre, including shots of Japanese soldiers occupying the eastern city and dead Chinese citizens in the street and along river banks.Those scenes were followed by a robust version of the Chinese national anthem

Xi acknowledged the massacre was the result of"a few militarists, but not the people," adding hatred shouldn't be extended to an entire nation as a result. The ceremony included the release of 3,000 doves symbolizing peace and a memorial for the victims.

TagsNanjing, Rape of Nanking, Sino-Japanese War, Sino-Japanese War, War Crimes