NANJING -- Xie Guiying, a survivor of the Nanjing Massacre in East China born in September 1924, passed away on Thursday, reducing the number of living registered survivors to 26, according to the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders.

The Nanjing Massacre refers to a period of history that started when Japanese troops captured the then Chinese capital on Dec 13, 1937. In the space of six weeks, they killed approximately 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers in one of the most barbaric episodes of World War II.

In 1937, before the Japanese forces entered Nanjing, where Xie's family lived, Xie's mother took her and her siblings to flee the invading troops, leaving her father behind to guard their house. As the Nanjing Massacre unfolded, Xie's father was killed by Japanese soldiers.

After that, Xie's mother struggled to support the children on her own. Xie narrowly escaped death three times, and a clearly visible scar remained on her forehead — a wound inflicted when Japanese soldiers dragged her, which caused her to bang her head against a rock.

Xie often participated in activities at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders before her death, hoping the public will forever remember that catastrophic period of history.

"Now our country is growing stronger and our lives are getting better — we owe this to the Communist Party of China," Xie said.

Six survivors, including Xie, have passed away since the beginning of this year, as the number of those able to share firsthand accounts of the massacre continues to decline.

In 2014, China's top legislature designated Dec 13 as a national memorial day for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre.

The Chinese government has also preserved survivors' testimonies — recorded in both written and video transcripts. These documents on the massacre were listed by UNESCO in the Memory of the World Register in 2015.