July 7 Incident of 1937

    For the Chinese people, July 7 is a day etched on their minds. It was the day which marked the beginning of China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-45).

    On July 7, 1937, the Japanese army launched a military exercise near Lugouqiao (Marco Polo Bridge) in southwestern Beijing (Beiping). They later claimed one of their soldiers was missing and asked to enter the Wanping County to look for him. Knowing the Chinese army would reject the request, they used this as an excuse to launch a full scale attack.

The invasive Japanese troops attack the Lugouqiao area, July 7, 1937.	Chinese soldiers on Lugouqiao

A white marble stele with the inscription of Emperor Qianlong (reign years: 1735-1796) of the Qing Dynasty	The Chinese army marches to the front after the July 7 Incident.