On July 29, as Beijing residents battened down the hatches for what would be the city’s heaviest rainfall in 140 years, authorities began preparing to protect lives and property across the city. But as government organizations and emergency services mobilized to close roads, divert waterways and relocate tens of thousands of people, another vital operation was underway: a night-and-day campaign to monitor and protect the city’s oldest stone structure, Lugou Bridge in Fengtai District.
Known in the West
