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In the early 20th Century, tens of thousands of Russian Jews found a new home in Harbin, Manchuria, bringing their culture and western classical music. The Harbin Symphony Orchestra founded in 1908 is the oldest symphony orchestra in China and the Harbin No.1 Music School founded in 1928 was the first music school in China. The musical tradition continues and in 2010, Harbin was recognised by UNESCO as ‘The Music City’. To many in the West, it will be a surprise that China was already fighting WW2 when hostilities in Europe broke out. The brutal Japanese occupation of Manchuria from 1931 escalated in 1937 to a full-scale conflict at Lugouqiao (known as the Marco Polo Bridge incident). Contrary to popular belief, despite an estimated 15 to 20 million dead and an astonishing 90+ million Chinese becoming refugees, the resilient Chinese neither surrendered nor were completely defeated.