Wanping Fortress, also known as Wanping Castle (), is a

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

fortress or "walled city" in Fengtai District,

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. It was erected in 1638–1640, with the purpose of defending Beijing against

Li Zicheng Li Zicheng (22 September 1606 – 1645), born Li Hongji, also known by his nickname, the Thunder King, was a Chinese Late Ming peasant rebellions, peasant rebel leader who helped overthrow the Ming dynasty in April 1644 and ruled over northe ...

and the peasant uprising. From the beginning, it functioned as a military fortress. From west to east, it measures , and from south to the north , 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 The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

, 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).

Transport

It is served by Wanpingcheng station of Beijing Subway Line 16

Gallery

File:Kangxi-Lugou-rebuilding-stele-3585.jpg, The west gate of the Wanping Fortress seen from a distance File:Wanping-Castle-south-wall-3514.jpg, The fortress walls were damaged by Japanese shells during the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. File:Lugou-bridge-lions-3620.jpg, The Wanping Fortress as seen from the Lugou Bridge File:Wanping Castle 20121004.JPG, Wall of the west gate File:Wanping-castle-south-wall-3634.jpg, The walls of the fortress

References

External links

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TouchBeijing.com Wanping Fortress and Lugou Bridge (Marco Polo Bridge)
Buildings and structures in Fengtai District Tourist attractions in Beijing 17th-century establishments in China Forts in China Military history of Beijing {{China-struct-stub