Marcus Detrez and his friends, Bastien Ratat and Zhong Haosong, visit the Dongjiang Column Memorial Hall in Pingshan District on Aug. 14. Photo from Pingshan Media Center

On Aug. 14, Frenchman Marcus Detrez and his friends — Bastien Ratat, also from France, and Zhong Haosong from China — visited Pingshan District in Shenzhen.

Detrez recently donated 618 rare historical photographs to China. The photos document atrocities committed by the Japanese army during the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

Detrez and his friends began their visit at the Dongjiang Column Memorial Hall, which commemorates the Dongjiang Column of the Guangdong People’s Guerrilla Force Against Japanese Aggression. Formed in 1943 after several reorganizations of the original guerrilla units, the column played a crucial role in the southern China battlefield during the fight against Japanese aggression.

“Seeing these pictures [at the memorial hall], I feel like all the dots are connected,” Detrez said. “It [The Dongjiang Column] is clearly part of history, but I didn’t know about it [until now], so I'm very glad to learn more.”

Detrez’s donated photos were taken and preserved by his grandfather, Roger‑Pierre Laurens, who lived in Shanghai in the 1930s. The photos have been authenticated as gelatin silver prints developed between the 1930s and 1950s, and experts have noted their significance for research on the war and the global fight against fascism.

After leaving the memorial hall, the trio rode in a robotaxi in Pingshan and praised its AI system as an “experienced driver.” “People here work so hard to build this kind of technology. In France, we don’t have this. It‘s very impressive,” Detrez said. “This driverless technology reflects China's present and future,” Ratat added.

During their visit to other parts of Shenzhen, the group remained impressed by the city’s technological development. They tried Kenqing Technology’s exoskeletons and had drinks delivered by drone at Shenzhen Bay Park.