CGTN launches Unforgotten Front: China in WWII, an immersive and interactive digital product, to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

Combining cutting-edge technology with data-driven storytelling, the interactive utilizes multi-track timelines and dynamic visualizations to highlight the global significance of China's victory in the war and its role as a vital front in World War II.

The interactive invites users to scroll through the years of conflict, from the sparks of aggression in the early 1930s to the moment the guns finally fell silent in 1945. Along the way, it offers real photos from the battlefield, the voices of fallen heroes brought back through AI-narrated wartime letters and dynamic timelines that situate China's experience within World War II and its resistance against the Japanese even before the global war began.

At its core, Unforgotten Front is developed on the belief that the way we remember history matters. Traditional history books present events in a linear sequence, often isolating one battle front from another. However, wars are never fought in isolation: battles on one front influence strategies on the other. This interactive allows users to see these connections.

Multiple theaters, one global war

The grand timeline in the interactive unfolds across four major theaters of war along with global events.

The heart of the interactive is the China Theater of War, which underscores China's prolonged struggle. It begins with the September 18 Incident of 1931, which triggered localized resistance, and expands into the whole-nation War of Resistance in 1937 and beyond.

Along the way, users learn about iconic events such as the Battle of Songhu, the Nanjing Massacre, the Hundred-Regiment Campaign and the eventual Japanese surrender. Each entry is paired with stark images – ruins of cities, soldiers in trenches – reminding viewers that this was not a remote theater but a central front of World War II.

The events from the European Theater of War take users across the arc of Europe's war: Hitler's rise in 1933, the Blitzkrieg into Poland in 1939, the carnage of Stalingrad, the Normandy landings, and the final fall of Berlin. By placing these alongside China's timeline, the interactive emphasizes the simultaneity of struggle – while Soviet soldiers defended Moscow from the Germans, Chinese fighters resisted the Japanese in Changsha.

The events from the North African Theater of War expand the perspective to Africa. The invasion of Ethiopia, the clashes at El Alamein and the Allied Operation Torch highlight how World War II stretched far beyond Europe and Asia, involving a patchwork of nations and colonial subjects.

The track on the Pacific Theater of War moves from the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor to the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Events like the Guadalcanal campaign, the Battle of Iwo Jima, and the Okinawa offensive remind users of the ferocity of the Pacific War.

The global track in the timeline highlights pivotal events that shaped the international context – from the Great Depression (1929-1933), which destabilized nations, to the signing of the United Nations Charter in 1945. Milestones such as the Cairo and Yalta conferences remind users that diplomacy was as important as battlefields in steering the course of the war.

Multimedia storytelling

Beyond the timeline, Unforgotten Front enriches the experience with multimedia. AI-narrated original wartime letters give voice to soldiers who never returned home. These letters resonate with a range of emotions: hope, fear, longing and sacrifice, reminding us that history is not a sum of statistics but a mosaic of individual lives.

All along, photographs punctuate the narrative – shots of battlefields, portraits of leaders, images of civilians enduring extraordinary times.

Lest we forget

Eighty years may seem like a long time, but the lessons of war remain urgent. Rising rivalries and conflicts over territory around the world echo eerily with the past. By spotlighting China's role – too often sidelined in Western narratives – Unforgotten Front restores balance to the global memory.

In the end, this interactive is not just about war. It is about the resilience of people, the costs of aggression and the enduring hope for peace. As users scroll from 1931 to 1945, they are not just observers of history – they become participants in its remembrance.