The forgotten history: Guilin and Flying-Tigers

On the way to the airport, if not drive on the highway, we would pass a flat area that stretches kilometers. New buildings are springing up and according to the municipal plan, this area would be the hi-technological area in a decade or two. We have been used to this kind of city expansion. But this one is different…… The reasons? Here we go.
During the Second World War, because of the invasion of Japanese, the government of the Republic of China retreated to Chongqing and made it the capital. Millions of people, including soldiers, scholars and university professors crowded into the south. But Chongqing is not a city big enough for more to come. Thus lots of them came to Guilin and in a short time the quietness the city boasted became the past. In this way, Guilin became a cultural center in the southwest China. Among those who came to the city, most were not soldiers but scholars and intellectuals. For this reason Guilin got out of the eyes of the Japanese and was away from the war for a few years.
But in Chongqing the situation was completely contrary. Japanese army sent their air forces to bomb the city nearly every day. Damaged were not only the buildings and factories but also the military facilities. The capital was in danger!
At this time, assistance came. Some of the Americans voluntarily called on their friends and the others to offer help. At last with the money they raised they organized a flying team, which was later name by the Chinese the flying tigers, to come to China to fight against the Japanese.
In China they made Kunming the base and most of their airplanes were stationed there. But considering that Japanese might attack Kunming, Guilin became their backup airport. The planes were a great help. Because of them the Japanese were not able to easily invade the southwest and won the time for we Chinese to fight back. But those pilots’ cost was high: some died in fighting and some died with the crashed plane…..but their names and their sacrifice were kept in our minds forever.
Just few years ago, some of those veterans came to Kunming and Guilin to revisit the places that were once part of their life. But what they could visit were just something on show in the museum. As for the places the veterans had been familiar, nothing kept the same.
The construction is going on but our memory of the past will not……!@#$%$^%&*()

Unfortunately, Flying-tigers does not have anything to do with tigers...