Kanchanaburi has a number of monuments that stem more from its recent history than its ancient past. During the Second World War Japan's war time 'administration' of Thailand saw over the construction of a railway line through Kanchanaburi intended to join portions of the Japanese empire. Given the name 'Death Railway', the construction of the line was the cause of thousands of deaths of allied troop prisoners of war and Asian laborers. The facts related to these events are commemorated by a number of monuments around the province's main town. To those with any connection to these events in the Second World War, a trip to Kanchanaburi's monuments is often emotion filled and moving.