Marco Polo Bridge

 was a bridge in the north of China.

In July 1937, it was the site of an incident in which the Imperial Japanese Army provoked a fight between the Chinese soldiers in the area and used it as justification for further expansion into China beyond occupied Manchuria. The incident forced the governments of China and Japan onto a war footing, signalling the beginning of World War II in Asia. (PROSE: The Shadow of Weng-Chiang)