First shot: Jiangqiao and the dawn of China's resistance

General Ma Zhanshan's troops fired the first shot of China's armed resistance against Japanese aggression in November 1931 in Jiangqiao, Tailai County, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

Their victory shattered the myth of Japan's "invincible" Kwantung Army and ignited a flame of defiance across the region.

Decades later, local villager Zhang Shuming has dedicated his life to preserving relics from that battle – extra editions of newspapers, battlefield fragments, soldiers' personal items – each bearing silent witness to bloodshed and sacrifice.

Zhang hopes these artifacts will be passed down, so future generations will remember the battle waged for their nation's dignity.