The September 18 Incident broke out in Shenyang on September 18, 1931, when the invading Japanese Kwantung Army blew up part of a railroad owned by a Japanese colonial company near Mukden (now Shenyang) in southern Manchuria and then accused Chinese troops of the sabotage. The Japanese militants used the incident as a pretext for a larger scale war against China, and they conspired to establish the puppet Manchukuo government in the northeast the following year. The event is also known as the Manchurian Incident. The picture shows the Japanese army bombing the Chinese army barracks. [Photo/Exhibition Road to Rejuvenation at the National Museum of China]

The September 18 Incident in 1931 brought disaster to the Chinese people. The picture shows the Sanxin Company in Shanghai hung two Chinese characters – meaning national crisis - in front of their gate. [Photo/people.com.cn]

Following the September 18 Incident in1931, students demonstrated and Chiang Kai-shek was forced to meet the representatives. [Photo/people.com.cn]