Chinese navy soldiers toll the peace bell in a memorial park for the Battle of Shanghai yesterday in the city’s Baoshan District.

More than 500 representatives, including veterans, soldiers, historians and local teachers, students and residents, participated in the event to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Shanghai, also known as the Battle of Songhu.

The Battle of Shanghai was the first major engagement and one of the largest and bloodiest battles of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. Japanese troops invaded Shanghai on August 13, 1937 during World War II, but met with strong resistance.

More than 300,000 Chinese soldiers were killed or injured during the three-month battle, while casualties on the Japanese side numbered 40,000. The battle eventually escalated into a full-scale war waged by Japan that would involve all the major regions of China.