Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression

Welcome to the Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. We are standing in the historic town of Wanping, on the southwestern outskirts of Beijing. …

As you approach the museum, you find yourself within the walls of the Wanping Fortress. Built in the late Ming Dynasty to guard the western approach to Beijing, these walls still bear the scars of history—look closely at the…

The first major gallery takes us back to September 18, 1931, the night of the Mukden Incident. Here, the museum displays maps and troop movement charts that detail how Japanese forces staged an explosion on their own railway line…

We move into the heart of the 1937 escalation. This gallery features a large-scale panorama of the Lugou Bridge—or Marco Polo Bridge—on the night of July 7th. …

This is perhaps the most difficult section of the museum to visit. It documents the fall of Nanjing in December 1937 and the six weeks of atrocities that followed. …

In a more hopeful turn, we reach the gallery dedicated to international support, with a primary focus on the 'Flying Tigers,' the American Volunteer Group. Here, you can see the iconic shark-faced P-40 fighter plane models and…

The final major sections of the museum focus on the counter-offensives and the eventual surrender of Japanese forces in 1945. You will see the original documents of surrender and photographs of the celebrations that erupted…

We conclude our tour at the sculpture garden outside the museum. From here, you can see the distant silhouette of the Marco Polo Bridge, now a peaceful site for tourists and locals alike. …