Lugou Bridge is over the Yongding River 15 kilometers southwest of Beijing. To the east of the bridge, there lies Wanping County, which belongs to Fengtai District in Beijing City. On July 7, 1987, in the solemn fiftieth anniversary of the Lugou Bridge Incident, the Memorial of the Chinese Anti-Japanese War was completed in Wanping County and opened to public.  

The Lugou Bridge was originally built in the 29^th year (1189) of the Dading reign in the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234). It underwent large-scale reconstructions in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). It is the oldest multi-arch stone bridge extant in Beijing City. The whole bridge is 266.5 meters long and 7.5 meters wide, with 11 arches. The piers are boat shaped. On both sides of the bridge, there are stone banisters supported by 140 columns. On top of each column, there is a carved stone lion. There are altogether 485 columns with the stone lions. Wanping County, which is near the bridge, was built in the 11^th year (1638) of the Chongzhen reign in the Ming Dynasty. It was originally named Gongbei City and Gongji City, and was the important strategic gateway of the capital of the Ming and Qing dynasties. At 10 o'clock on July 7, 1937, after the Japanese invaders had a maneuver near Wanping County, they claimed that a soldier was lost, and required to enter Wanping County to search for him. It was actually a provocation. The garrison at the county, No. 29 Corps of Kuomintang, which was led by Song Zheyuan, refused the unreasonable requirement firmly. The Japanese army then attacked Wanping County through cannonade, and attacked Lugou Bridge. The Chinese garrison fought back with great valor. They had a fierce battle with the Japanese army there. This is called the July 7 Incident, or the Lugou Bridge Incident. The great Chinese Anti-Japanese War then broke out.