Insight: A day that pains people even 70 years later

July 7, 1937: It's a day that history will never forget. The invading Japanese army attacked the Marco Polo Bridge in southwestern Beijing. That started a massive invasion of the country, leading to the fall of Tianjin and Beijing, and later Nanjing, the then capital of China. The Chinese fought the invaders with their lives, beginning the eight-year War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression that ended with Tokyo's surrender to the Allies in 1945.

Nine veterans of the war and hundreds of other people gathered at the Marco Polo Bridge, and a documentary film on the Nanjing Massacre was premiered in Beijing and Shanghai to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the event on Saturday.

Among those who had gathered at the Marco Polo Bridge was 89-year-old Zhao Xinli. It was his first visit to the site in 70 years. "This is probably my last chance to see the place where we fought for our country," he said in a trembling voice. Zhao was accompanied by eight of his fellow soldiers from the No. 29 corps of the Nationalist Army that fought against the Japanese invaders at Nanyuan, a town near the bridge.