Museum salutes wartime lifeline for China, the Stilwell Road

The Chongqing Stilwell Museum — in the former residence of United States Army General Joseph W. Stilwell (1883-1946) — hosted an event on Thursday commemorating the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Stilwell Road during World War II. Nine descendants of the Stilwell family attended the ceremony.

The Stilwell Road, also known as the China-India Road, was a significant military supply route constructed under the general's leadership. It was built starting in late 1942 and was completed in early 1945. The 1,700-kilometer route connected China with India and Burma (today's Myanmar).

This year also marks the 80th anniversary of victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War.

The highlight of the event in Chongqing was the unveiling of a full-size bronze statue of General Stilwell, depicting him with a carbine slung over his shoulder, striding confidently and gazing resolutely forward.

Stilwell commanded the China-Burma-India theater during the war. He had developed deep respect for the Chinese people through multiple tours of duty in the 1920s and 1930s. The museum is dedicated to his memory and celebrates the collaborative efforts of Chinese and American military forces. 

The museum received several significant donations on Thursday, such as 421 photographs of General Frank D. Merrill's handwritten letters from World War II, a collection of original postal materials related to the international transportation line of the Southwest Rear Area (the wartime China-Burma Road), and other historical documents.

Later in the day, the Stilwell family visited Datianwan Primary School in the city's Yuzhong district, where they participated in the intangible cultural heritage of lacquer fan-crafting, followed by a soccer event. 

Notably, the Stilwell family, along with experts from Chongqing and Yunnan province, were scheduled to retrace the Stilwell Road in Yunnan from Friday to Tuesday. Their journey will cover the northern Tengchong section and southern Wanding section of the Stilwell Road, with visits to the Western Yunnan War of Resistance Memorial Museum, the Stilwell Road Museum, the Songshan War of Resistance site and the Stilwell Road Starting Point Monument. The journey will conclude at the Flying Tigers Museum in Yunnan's capital Kunming.

In 2023, to commemorate the 140th anniversary of Stilwell's birth, Chongqing held a series of events fondly remembering the hero who fought side by side with the Chinese people during the latter part of the war.