In August 1934 , at the time of the traditional summer festival , the prisoners were given a ration of special foods . One prisoner , named Li , managed to overpower his guard , seize the keys and freed about forty of his fellow prisoners . Although their legs were shackled , their arms were free , and the prisoners were able to climb the outside walls . A heavy downpour had knocked out the facility 's electricity , deactivating the searchlights and electric fence . Some ten of the escapees were shot by guards while others were recaptured and subjected to sadistic treatment as reprisal , but roughly sixteen managed to escape . Some of the men soon died from exposure , hunger , cold , and the afflictions from their abuse at the camp , but several managed to survive , and spread word of the crimes against humanity being conducted by Shiro and his subordinates . Although the Kuomintang took no notice of these reports , Zhongma Fortress was closed down due to the significant publicity , and its activities transferred to a new site closer to Harbin called Pingfang ( Heibo ) , which came to be known as Unit 731 . The testimony of one of the escapees , Ziyang Wang , was collected by Xiao Han , deputy director of the Pingfang museum , in the 1980s . The graphic novel '' Maruta 454 '' ( 2010 ) , by Paul-Yanic Laquerre , Song Yang and Pastor , depicts the escape of 12 Chinese prisoners from Unit Tōgō , based on Wang 's testimony
Unit 731
Unit 731
Zhongma Fortress