Tributes paid to the 'angel of peace'

The only photo of Galiya is on display at the Galiya Memorial in Suifenhe. The photo was taken with her older brother, Zhang Guolie, when Galiya was 15.  Provided to China Daily

Zakharevich, who survived the war, told his wife many details about the incident before he died in 1981.

His wife recalled Zakharevich saying that Galiya shouted for more than an hour outside the garrison but nobody came out to negotiate.

The Japanese later agreed to let her enter unaccompanied. Before going in, Galiya said, "I probably won't come back."

Three hours after she entered the garrison, a fierce quarrel could be heard followed by gunfire.

Zakharevich thought Galiya had been killed. He shouted to the garrison, and the Japanese troops opened fire, killing two Soviet soldiers and injuring three others.

In response, the Soviet Red Army launched an artillery barrage and destroyed the garrison.

Zhang said, "After bombarding the Japanese, we searched for my sister for more than a month but never found anything."

In 1946, Zakharevich was awarded the Order of the Red Star for his part in the action at Tianchang Mountain. He always told his wife that the medal should have been awarded to Galiya. It is now displayed in Suifenhe in the Galiya Memorial, which opened to the public in July 2013.

The memorial, covering 300 square meters, has received more than 120,000 visitors, some from Russia, according to its curator, Yu Guanchun.

The only photo of the young Galiya on display at the memorial was taken with her older brother Zhang Guolie when she was 15.