Nanjing hosted the Japanese surrender ceremony that ended the war in China on September 9, 1945.
The ceremony took place at the Central Army Military Academy in Nanjing, one week after Japan’s formal surrender aboard USS Missouri. General He Yingqin accepted the surrender of Japanese forces in China on behalf of the Republic of China, while General Yasuji Okamura represented Japan.
This event was separate from the main surrender ceremony in Tokyo Bay. The September 2 ceremony ended Japan’s war with the Allied powers in the broader Pacific conflict, while the Nanjing ceremony dealt specifically with Japanese forces operating in China.
Nanjing is sometimes confused with Chongqing, which was the wartime capital of the Republic of China. By September 1945, Nanjing was chosen as the location for the formal Chinese surrender ceremony and the transfer of Japanese military authority in China.