Full coverage: 85th Anniversary of the '9/18 Incident'

China is marking the 85th anniversary of the September 18th Incident, when Japanese troops began an invasion in the northeast of the country in 1931. A memorial ceremony was held this morning in the city of Shenyang, which was then called Mukden.

Students attend a ceremony to commemorate the 85th anniversary of the September 18 Incident in Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, Sept. 18, 2016. On Sept. 18, 1931, Japanese troops blew up a section of the railway under their control near Shenyang, and then accused Chinese troops of sabotage as a pretext for attack. They bombarded barracks near Shenyang the same evening, beginning a large-scale armed invasion of northeast China. The incident was followed by Japan's full-scale invasion of China and the rest of Asia, triggering the war against Japanese aggression. (Xinhua/Yao Jianfeng)

Remembering the moment 85 years ago, when the Japanese imperial army used a staged pretext to open fire on Chinese troops.

Sirens blare across the city of Shenyang, to remind people of numerous fierce battles where millions died.

“We should not forget the humiliation once imposed on us. We should turn the pain into our strength to develop our country. History tells us that we will easily fall victim to bullies if we were left behind. Only through development can we make our nation strong,” Vice Premier Liu Yandong said.

On September 18, 1931, Japanese imperial troops blew up a section of rail under their control near Shenyang. They used it to accuse the Chinese military of sabotage, and declared war the same evening. Five months later, the Japanese army occupied all the three provinces in northeastern China.  It was the beginning of 14 years of colonial rule, which ended when Japan surrendered in World War II in 1945.

During the war, Northeastern China was a home front for the Japanese army. They exploited the natural, farming and labor resources to fuel an offensive in the Asia-Pacific region. But today, to remember the suffering is not about holding on to hatred.

“We always set promoting peaceful development as our top obligation. We will continue to pursue the path of peaceful development and maintain friendly relations with other countries, and unswervingly safeguard the achievements from our victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and World War II, to establish a type of new international relations with win-win cooperation as the core,” Liu said.

Liu is sending a clear message: Peace and development, to seek common ground and cooperation, and avoid misunderstanding and conflict.