Iris Chang Memorial Hall

The Iris Chang Memorial Hall is located at 502 North Nanchang Road in Huaiyin District, Huai'an, Jiangsu province, China. It honours Iris Chang, the American-born Chinese author of The Rape of Nanking, whose 1997 book brought international attention to the atrocities committed in Nanjing in 1937 and 1938. Her ancestral roots were in Huai'an, and the city established the hall to commemorate her work and her life, which ended in 2004. The memorial presents her biography, family background, writing career and research, together with the historical events she documented. Exhibits include photographs, personal items, copies of her books in many languages, letters, press coverage and displays on her campaign for historical memory and justice. The tone is sober, and the galleries are compact and quiet. A visit takes about 45 to 60 minutes. Admission is free, and the hall is open in the morning and afternoon with a midday closure from 11:30 to 14:00 and a closure on Mondays, so visitors need to plan around those hours. The exhibition rooms are best photographed in the main gallery, where her portrait and books are displayed, though some areas may restrict photography out of respect. Crowds are generally small, and weekday mornings are especially calm, although school groups occasionally visit. The hall is a moving stop for those interested in the history of the war and the memory of the Nanjing events, and it provides a different perspective from the better known Huai'an sites devoted to Zhou Enlai and the Grand Canal. Labels are mostly in Chinese with some English, so a translation app is useful. The hall is reachable by bus 107 or 117, or special bus 07, and it is located in the Huaiyin district centre, which is some distance from the old Huai'an city, so a taxi or ride-hailing app may save time.