(PANG XINGLEI)

Young students present flowers at the Museum of the War of the Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in Beijing on September 3, or Victory Day, during a high-profile commemorative ceremony.

Top state leaders, veterans and local residents attended the ceremony, the first since China's national legislature ratified the official observance of Victory Day in February.

The war broke out in 1937 when Japan launched an all-out military offensive against China and ended on September 2, 1945, with the signing of a document declaring Japan's unconditional surrender.