A participant holds a yellow chrysanthemum at “Remember History, Never Forget September 18,” a commemorative event hosted by the Museum of the War of Chinese People’s Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in Beijing on September 18, 2026. Photo: Li Hao/GT

China marked the 95th anniversary of the September 18 Incident on Friday with bell-tolling ceremonies, air raid sirens and memorial events across the country, remembering a pivotal moment in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression.

On September 18, 1931, the Japanese Kwantung Army bombed a section of the South Manchuria Railway near Liutiao Lake on the northern outskirts of Shenyang, Northeast China. The Japanese blamed Chinese troops for the act and used it as a pretext to attack Beidaying, where the Chinese Northeast Army was garrisoned, and then bombarded Shenyang. The incident marked the beginning of imperial Japan's occupation of Northeast China, as well as China's 14-year resistance against Japanese aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

"Looking back on this history, we must keep its warning alive. As young people, we should never forget the national humiliation or what happened on that day," Yang Yixuan, a student at the Beijing Dance Academy, told the Global Times on Friday. "Our predecessors sacrificed their lives for the peaceful lives we enjoy today."

Yang attended a commemorative event at the Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance against Japanese Aggression in Beijing, held under the theme "Remember History, Never Forget September 18."

At 9:18 am, nearly 200 participants, including teachers and students from the Beijing Dance Academy, Peking University and the Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, as well as museum staff, gathered in the museum. They sang the Chinese national anthem, observed a moment of silence and laid flowers in tribute to those who died in the war.

Global Times reporters observed solemn expressions among participants as they paid their respects.

The museum arranged four guided tours throughout the day focusing on the incident, drawing on its exhibition themed "For National Liberation and World Peace." It also held a joint online educational session on wartime memories with the September 18 History Museum in Shenyang and worked with the Memorial Museums Committee of the Chinese Museums Association and other organizations on related commemorations.

The Beijing event was part of observances nationwide. In Shenyang, where the incident took place, a bell-tolling and siren ceremony was held on Friday morning, CCTV News reported.

A total of 14 representatives from different walks of life gathered beside a monument shaped like a damaged calendar page to ring a warning bell inscribed with the words "Never Forget National Humiliation." Its 14 tolls symbolized the Chinese nation's arduous 14-year resistance.

At 9:18 am, cities across Liaoning simultaneously sounded air raid sirens for three minutes, reminding people to remember history and cherish peace.

In Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province, a ceremony was held at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, including raising the national flag, singing the national anthem and tolling the peace bell to remember history and honor the fallen, according to CCTV News.

moreover, military units across China held commemorative activities, combining field training with visits to historical memorials, the national broadcaster reported.

"History is the best textbook and the best reminder to remain clear-headed," said Wu Lipeng of a brigade under the People's Liberation Army (PLA) 71st Group Army. "We will train and prepare for combat according to the demands of actual operations, maintain combat readiness and shoulder our responsibility to build a stronger military."

At field training sites across China, service members recited the Communist Party of China membership oath. They translated their patriotism and commitment to strengthening the military into concrete actions in training and combat preparedness to safeguard the country and its people, CCTV News reported.

"As a service member in the new era, I will draw motivations from history, reject complacency and remain ready for combat," said Wang Weipeng of a brigade under the 73rd Group Army. "Through action, I will fulfill the solemn pledge to defend our country and never yield an inch of its territory."

Qi Linghui of a brigade under the 72nd Group Army said remembrance of those who had sacrificed their lives during the war would strengthen the unit's determination to safeguarding the motherland.

"We will turn our deep remembrance of the revolutionary martyrs into motivation for training and combat preparedness, resolutely defend national sovereignty, security and development interests, and effectively fulfill the missions entrusted to us by the Party and the people in the new era," Qi said.