Amid Guilin’s karst peaks and winding Li River, Yangtang Airfield in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of the Chinese mainland whispers tales of courage, sacrifice, and an unlikely friendship forged in the skies during World War II.
Back then, Guilin was under constant Japanese bombardment as enemy forces aimed to destroy key Allied air bases. Local residents labored without heavy machinery to build runways and hangars—many giving up their lives to keep hope alive. 🏗️💔
The Flying Tigers—a group of daring U.S. volunteer pilots—found refuge here. To save these airmen from starvation, families often gave up precious eggs so the bigger-built pilots could refill their energy. 🍳🤝
Jeffery Greene, veteran pilot and chairman of the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation, shared this remarkable chapter with CGTN:
"If China and the United States, the world's most powerful countries, work together like they did 80 years ago, there's nothing that can't be accomplished."
Today, Yangtang Airfield stands as a living monument to what unity can achieve—reminding us that when cultures join forces, the sky is never the limit. ✈️🌍
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
