Young people across China are being encouraged to watch a television program to air on China Central Television on Friday that showcases World War II Chinese heroes.

The program, The First Lesson of the New Academic Year, will invite people who lived through the war to share their stories and memories about the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45).

According to Xu Wenguang, deputy director of CCTV 1, which will broadcast the program, the storytellers will include 93-year-old actress and artist Qin Yi, whose late husband, Jin Yan, was a friend of Nie Er, the composer of China's national anthem. Qin will tell a story about how Nie composed the anthem when he played the piano at Qin and Jin's home.

Another storyteller is Shi Linshan. He will share the memory of his childhood friend Yan Fuhua, better known as "Wang Erxiao", a 13-year-old boy who sacrificed his life in 1941 to protect his fellow villagers from Japanese soldiers.

Eighty-seven-year-old Xia Shuqin, who survived the Nanjing Massacre in 1937, will tell a tale of how she lost her family in the slaughter and how she tried to live through the grief.

In addition, 29 war veterans will be a part of the program, listening to the stories and communicating with youngsters, said Qian Wei, director of CCTV 1.

"The oldest among the soldiers is 98 and the youngest is already 85," she said. "During the program, no moment is more touching than the one when youngsters take selfies with these honorable senior people."

The program is scheduled to be broadcast at 8 pm on Friday, and the theme of honoring the memory of heroes is designed to echo the celebration marking the 70th anniversary of the Chinese victory in the war, said Yu Weiyue, deputy director of the Education Ministry's basic education department.

zhaoxinying@chinadaily.com.cn