Marco Polo Bridge
The Marco Polo Bridge is a stone bridge over the Yongding River, located in Fengtai District, 15km southwest of central Beijing. It makes for a good short excursion, particularly for those who have already visited Beijing’s main tourist attractions.
Highlights and Travel Tips
Originally known as Lugou bridge, the bridge earned its current name after a visit by 13th century Venetian traveler Marco Polo, who described it as “a very fine stone bridge, so fine indeed, that it has very few equals in the world” in his book The Travels of Marco Polo. The 266.5-meter-long bridge is built entirely from granite and is supported by 11 segmental arches. The most interesting feature of the bridge is the hundreds of stone lions (more than 500 hundred by some estimates) stood to attention down either side. The most intriguing thing about the lions is that each large lion, which are all in different poses, is decorated with smaller lions hiding on their heads, backs or under their paws.
Apart from its relationship to one of history’s most famous travelers, the bridge is also known for being the site of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident on July 7, 1937, which is commonly regarded as the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). In China, the event is more commonly referred to as the “Seven Seven Incident.”The nearby Museum of the War of Chinese People’s Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, located at the eastern end of the bridge, has more information about the incident.
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