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Wanping Fortress

17th-century establishments in ChinaBuildings and structures in Fengtai DistrictForts in ChinaPeople's Republic of China building and structure stubsTourist attractions in Beijing
Wanping Castle east gate 3522
Wanping Castle east gate 3522

Wanping Fortress, also known as Wanping Castle (Chinese: 宛平城; pinyin: Wǎnpíng Chéng), is a Ming Dynasty fortress or "walled city" in Fengtai District, Beijing. It was erected in 1638–1640, with the purpose of defending Beijing against Li Zicheng and the peasant uprising. From the beginning, it functioned as a military fortress. From west to east, it measures 640 meters (2,100 ft), and from south to the north 320 meters (1,050 ft), making it a half-square shape. The fortress has two gates: the east gate, named Ever Prosperous Gate (永昌門, Yongchangmen), then renamed as Majestic Gate (威嚴門, Weiyanmen), and the west gate, named Favorably Govern Gate (順治門, Shunzhimen). Wanping witnessed the incident in July 1937 that is reckoned to mark the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War, with an exchange of fire over a minor case of a Japanese soldier missing from his post. For reasons unknown, this escalated into full-scale combat. It is known as the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, and also the Lugou Bridge Incident. The Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, surrounded by a plaza and park with numerous sculptures, occupies a large portion of the space inside the fortress' walls. To the west of the fortress are the Yongding River and the Lugou Bridge (Marco Polo Bridge, 蘆溝橋).

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Wanping Fortress (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Wanping Fortress
Wanping City Wall, Fengtai District Wanping

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N 39.85000001 ° E 116.22000001 °
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宛平城城墙

Wanping City Wall
Fengtai District, Wanping
Beijing, China
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Wanping Castle east gate 3522
Wanping Castle east gate 3522
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Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression
Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression

The Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (simplified Chinese: 中国人民抗日战争纪念馆; traditional Chinese: 中國人民抗日戰爭紀念館; pinyin: Zhōngguó Rénmín Kàngrì Zhànzhēng Jìniànguǎn) or Chinese People's Anti-Japanese War Memorial Hall is a museum and memorial hall in Beijing. It is the most comprehensive museum in China about the Second Sino-Japanese War. The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan from 7 July 1937 to 9 September 1945. It began with the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in 1937 in which a dispute between Japanese and Chinese troops escalated into a battle. The conflict then escalated further into a full-scale war. It ended with the unconditional surrender of Japan on 2 September 1945. The museum is located inside the Wanping Fortress near the Lugou Bridge (Marco Polo Bridge) in Beijing's Fengtai District, where the Japanese army waged the invading war. It was opened on the 50th anniversary of the outbreak of Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1987.Since its opening, it has undergone three major and several smaller renovation of the exhibits, the biggest of which was finished in 2005. A significant number of new facilities have been added, such as multimedia displays and video players. The museum both aims at domestic and foreign visitors, and has had several exhibitions outside China over the years.