Breaking the blockades with Allied help

The National Cemetery in Tengchong, Yunnan province, is the final resting place of 10,000 soldiers from the China Expeditionary Force and 19 United States liaison officers, who died in the relief of Tengchong.

"The victory against the Japanese war in Dianxi (the Chinese abbreviation for western Yunnan) could not have been achieved without the support of, and supplies from, the United States and other Allied countries. The Chinese people will never forget their contributions," Wu Baozhang, history professor of Yunnan Normal University, said.

In 1938, Lieutenant General Claire Chennault began introducing US training methods to the Chinese air force. He later led the 1st American Volunteer Group, also known as the Flying Tigers, a squadron of pilots from the US formed in Kunming, Yunnan, in 1941, who flew sorties against the Japanese air force.

According to Wu, the Flying Tigers were quickly engaged in the China-Burma-India theater, protecting the "Burma Road", then China's only lifeline for international aid.

At the Battle of Dianxi, the squadron used its aerial domination to conduct reconnaissance missions, drop supplies, engage enemy aircraft and bomb Japanese positions.

The Flying Tigers were disbanded in 1942, but by end of the war the US Air Force had shot down 2,600 Japanese aircraft, sunk 44 enemy warships and killed 66,700 Japanese troops. However, the US also paid a high price, losing about 500 pilots and more than 500 aircraft, he added.

To break the blockade, China, the US, Britain, India and Burma agreed to build the "China-India Road", which linked with the Burma Road.

Li Zhicai, a researcher at the museum in Baoshan, Yunnan, said that about 50,000 metric tons of military supplies were carried on the new road, providing invaluable support for the Chinese war effort.

"Construction began at the end of 1942 and finished in January 1945. The road stretched from India to Yunnan, via Burma. The northern section ran for 1,568 kilometers, while the southern route was 1,732 km."

Apart from providing arms and supplies, the US also dispatched large numbers of medical staff and military technicians to support China in its struggle against occupation.