"Phoenix in Fire," an animated film portraying China's resistance against Japanese aggression during World War II, premieres at a cinema in Yuzhong District of southwest China's Chongqing, June 5, 2025. Titled "Phoenix in Fire," the film opened at a cinema in Chaotianmen of Yuzhong District, a landmark location that was once a bustling riverside dock area and later reduced to rubble during the Japanese bombings of the war. (Xinhua/Zhou Siyu)

CHONGQING, June 5 (Xinhua) -- More than 80 years after a devastating wartime massacre, an animated film portraying China's resistance against Japanese aggression during World War II premiered Thursday afternoon in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality.

Titled "Phoenix in Fire," the film opened at a cinema in Chaotianmen of Yuzhong District, a landmark location that was once a bustling riverside dock area and later reduced to rubble during the Japanese bombings of the war.

"This movie is Chongqing's gift to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression," said Zhou Yong, the film's chief planner and vice president of a Chinese society on the history of that war.

Zhou told Xinhua that the film took nearly eight years to produce and saw the collaboration of both historians and artists. Together, they used animation, a global artistic language, to tell the story of the Chinese people's historic contribution during World War II.

Starting in 1938, Japanese warplanes bombed Chongqing, then China's provisional capital, killing and injuring more than 32,000 people. On June 5, 1941 alone, approximately 2,500 people suffocated to death while seeking shelter in a tunnel during one of the bombings.

The animated film draws inspiration from Zhou's study on "Kukan: The Battle Cry of China," an Oscar-winning documentary produced by Chinese American playwright Li Ling-Ai and filmed by American correspondent Rey Scott.

"Kukan," meaning "bitter struggle" or "hard work" in Chinese, offered American audiences rare footage of China's wartime resilience. Inspired by the documentary, some young American people joined the American Volunteer Group to help China fight the invaders.

Zhang Lianhong, the animated film's chief producer, said the project is deeply personal.

"My parents both lived through the Chongqing bombings, and I grew up listening to their stories," she said, adding that they were not confident at the beginning to make an animation with such a realistic theme.

The team revised the script more than 40 times and considered over 10 different titles before settling on "Phoenix in Fire," a metaphor for the city's rebirth from the ashes of war. The phoenix is also an auspicious symbol in China, dating back to ancient times.

To authentically depict wartime Chongqing, the production team enlisted elderly painters to recreate historical buildings, reviving the city's appearance from 80 years ago.

The story unfolds through the lens of the main characters, and presents a collective portrait of Chinese citizens during the war. "Everyone contributed in their own way -- together, they became an indomitable force. That's the secret behind the Chinese nation's invincibility," said Zhang.

The movie reached its climax as Chinese fighter jets soared into a desperate battle against invading forces, when many audiences watched in tears. "This movie uses artistic measures to arouse people's love for peace," said Wang Youran, a fifth-grader at the cinema, who added that they, as youngsters in the new era, should inherit the spirit of courage and fortitude.

Li Wan, a post-production staffer from central China's Hubei Province, said she didn't know much about the Chongqing bombings until joining the project.

The deeper she delved into the history, the more she was moved. "We hope young audiences will come to the cinema and feel the spirit of this city," Li said. ■