To pay tribute to the heroes and heroines who sacrificed their lives 70 years ago for China's painful, stunning and unremitting rise, dozens of retirees have formed a chorus in Beijing's Zizhuyuan Park for the last two years.

Retirees participate in a chorus singing songs about patriotism and heroism in Zizhuyuan Park, Beijing. [China.org.cn /By Wu Jin]

Sitting ona bench in a pavilion in Zizhuyuan Park, 63-year-old Ouyang Yan rhythmically pulls the concertina to accompany the choruscomposed of a number of retirees.

The songs they have sung over the past two years have commemoratedpatriotism and heroism, which dovetail the spirit of V-Day Parade in Sept. 3, 2015.

Their songs like "Stride Forward to Rejuvenation", "For Whom", "No Sorrow for Strong-Willed Young People" and "The Path under Heaven," have been all composed for the bliss of the country and its people.

Despite the famine in the early 1960s and Cultural Revolution (1967-1977), the difficult years have hardly shaken the faith of these seniors, most of who were born in the 1950s.

"We sung those songs whole-heartedly with the hope that the younger generation will inherit the spiritual value of their predecessors with the positive energy sweeping the country."

China experienced Japanese aggression from 1937 to 1945 during which a number of men and women, like Yang Jingyu, the commander of the Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army, and Zhao Yiman, who wasseverely tortured by the Japanese aggressors and shot at the age of 31, joinedthe army to fight the invaders.

"Young people should learn from the great spirit of the older generations and pass the previous values down instead of forgetting and denying them,"Ouyang said.

The concertina player is from a military family, and has been educated with the patriotic spirit from head to toe.

"I think the younger generation is growing up just like the young firefighters in the Tianjin blast in Aug. 12, 2015, to whom we should pay our sincere respect,"Ouyangsaid.