In Shenyang, the capital of northeast China’s Liaoning province, sirens and car horns sounded to mark the 91st anniversary of the September 18 incident that marked the start of the 14-year-old Japanese invasion of China.

While sirens sounded in the city for three minutes, passers-by stood in silence and cars honked. Since 1995, sirens have been sounding in Shenyang on the occasion of anniversaries for 28 years in a row.

According to China’s Xinhua news agency, hundreds of people gathered at the 9.18 History Museum and held ceremonies to commemorate the Chinese people’s war of resistance against Japanese aggression.

14 representatives of central and local governments, the armed forces and various sectors, in the presence of the honor guard of the People’s Liberation Army of China around 9:18 am, rang a huge bell 14 times to commemorate China’s bitter war against Japan.

On September 18, 1931, Japanese forces bombed part of the railway sector they controlled near Shenyang and accused Chinese forces of sabotage as a pretext for attack. Later that night, Japanese troops bombed a barracks near Shenyang, setting off a bloody invasion, the agency said.