RUGAO, China - Holding his walking stick like a gun, 87-year-old Qian Yaocheng said if there were war again, he would still go to the front.

Qian is just one of the veterans in central Jiangsu province who fought during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and China Daily reporter Liu Mengyang visited some World War II veterans and listened to their stories of fighting against Japanese invasion.

Most were in their 80s and 90s, living in their rural homes or nursing home, looking no different from other senior Chinese men except for their military medals and scars from bullet wounds.

Zhang Xianfu, wearing a camouflage jacket, started to sing a ballad which was popular at the central Jiangsu anti-Japanese base. Even after more than 70 years he did not forget a single line of the lyrics.

Burning of the bamboo fence

Wang Jinfu, who served in the main force in central Jiangsu, told how he had taken part in the "bamboo burning" movement, which happened in the counties of Qidong, Haimen, Nantong and part of Rugao.

According to Ma Daolai, 85, a former intelligence officer, the Japanese built a bamboo fence and increased troops to blockade the villages. He recalled that the Japanese were trying to launch a "mopping-up" operation in the area.

The Chinese military in the region organized a 40,000-strong force of soldiers and civilians to dismantle the bamboo fence stretching for 352 meters and destroyed more than four million bamboo sticks.

Ma sang a ballad to our reporter describing the scene at the burning of the bamboo fence.

Grass-root hero Gu Boda

Ma also told a story about a grass-root hero's battle of wits against the Japanese.

The brave man was Gu Boda, a boatman from Rugao county, and his story was widely known in the local community.

Late at night on September 26, 1938, a group of Japanese soldiers wanted to cross the river and found Gu, who lived on the river bank and asked him to punt boat for them. In the light from the soldiers' torch he saw his cousin Pan Shengjun, who was also working for the troops, before they exchanged a meaningful glance, hinting to each other what to do next.

After safely taking several ordinary soldiers across the river, six leaders of the Japanese army jumped onto the boat. Gu and Pan steered them to the deepest part of the river and sunk the boat, leaving the Japanese soldiers on the shore unable to save their leaders.

Gu was praised as a grass-root hero for his contribution as a whole Japanese unit in the region was eradicated after the leaders' death.