Guilin Flying Tigers Heritage Park

Located in Lingui District of Guilin, Flying Tigers Heritage Park is built in memory of those American volunteers of the famed Flying Tigers, who devoted themselves to helping local people fight against Fascism during Sino-Japanese War. It’s also a place for descendants and friends of those volunteers to mourn for the history and their predecessors.
 In June of 1942, an American volunteer group named Flying Tigers led by Claire Lee Chennault arrived in Guilin, Guangxi Province in order to guard the important Hump Air Route. It was a critical route connecting the southwest of China and South Asia and was used for transporting Chinese expeditionary forces and Indian strategic materials.

The volunteer troop was made up of American retired and reserve air forces. There is an interesting story about those volunteers. Because none of them knew Chinese, they all came with a little piece of cloth embroidered with 16 Chinese characters meaning
‘We are American volunteers coming to help you fight against the enemy’. Those pieces of cloth were sewn on their chest or back. They would get help from locals when necessary with the presence of the cloth. Actually, such stories happened many times during that time. So that cloth was thought as their amulets.

During the following two years, under Chennault’s command, the troop gained a great victory, destroying 2,600 enemy aircrafts and 45 warships, killing over 67 thousand enemies.

Attractions in the park include the Flying Tigers Memorial Hall, Monument to Flying Tigers, Command Post Site of Flying Tigers and Spaceflight Experiencing House.
 The Command Post Site of Flying Tigers is on the hillside of Jigong Mountain. Actually it’s a cave where Chennault commanded the troop.

Above the cave entrance is a two-meter (6 feet) high and three-meter (10 feet) wide inscription ‘Command Post Site of Flying Tigers’ by a famous calligrapher Wu Daochun. Beneath it is a stone inscribed with words of Chennault’s wife. Chennault used to sit here to direct battles. Inside the cave are some inscriptions about the Flying Tigers’ history in Guilin.
 Modeled on the warplane P-40 of Flying Tigers, the final Flying Tigers Memorial Hall was the sixth version following some suggestions from American relevant departments.

Until now, over 300 historical relics donated by the American Flying Tiger Historical Organization have been stored in the hall. A circular embossment shows some scenes of Flying Tigers, like the scene of their arrival in Guilin, scene of Chennault’s commanding, and scene of local people repairing the ruined Yangyang Airport.
 On March 25th, 2017, the American Flying Tiger Historical Organization donated a C-47 airplane to Guilin Flying Tigers Heritage Park. As the last C-47 with flying ability in the world, it contributed a lot to the anti-Fascist war.

Starting from Australia in August, 2016, five pilots with an average age of 71.8 flew it through Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Burma. After more than three months’ flight, they arrived at Guilin, China. The whole flight covers about 11,062 km (6,800 miles).

Since WWⅡ, it was the first time to fly along the Hump Air Route by a C-47. This C-47 has been stored in the park as an important witness of the China-U.S. friendship.
 Take bus 62, 85 or 501 and get off at Feihu Road or Feihu (Flying Tiger) Park station.
Guilin Bus Search
 The park opens from 09:00 - 17:00 from Tuesday to Sunday and is free to visitors.

 Further Reading
A Monument for U.S. Airmen in WWⅡ was built in Mao'er Mountain, which is in memory of Flying Tigers.