Opening Ceremony of American Flying Tiger Guilin Heritage Park Held

n March 28， Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong attended the opening of the Flying Tiger Guilin Heritage Park in Guilin， southwest China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region whose construction started in July 2011.

Located at the former site of Yang Tang Airport， it has such historical relics as the Command Post Cave， Observing Stone of General Chennault， and aircraft bunkers. It is the only existing command post of the Flying Tigers in China. The American Flying Tigers Historical Organization donated over 300 historic items， such as military uniforms， medals， and photos.

Over 300 Chinese and American guests were present at the opening ceremony， including Secretary Peng Qinghua of the CPC Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Regional Committee， Deputy Secretary General Jiang Xiaojuan of the State Council， Vice Minister Lu Xin of Education， Vice Minister Chen Gaihu of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission， Vice Minister Tan Tianxing of the State Council Overseas Chinese Affairs Office， Assistant Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang， CPAFFC Vice President Xie Yuan， Secretary Zhao Leqin of the CPC Guilin Municipal Committee， Mayor Zhou Jiabin of Guilin， Chairman James Whitehead of the American Flying Tigers Historical Organization （FTHO） and Honorary FTHO President Florence Fang， US Consul General in Guangzhou Jennifer Galt， Air Attaché Michael Marble of the US Embassy in China， 91-year-old Flying Tiger veteran J.V. Vinyard， General Chennault’s daughter Cynthia Chennault and granddaughter Nell Calloway.

In her meeting with the key members of the US delegation before the opening ceremony， Vice Premier Liu said 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the Victory of the World’s Anti-Fascist War and the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

Fighting side by side， China and the U.S. made great contributions to the final victory. The heroic deeds of the Flying Tigers and other aid-China American personages would always be remembered. “Though tremendous changes have taken place in the international situation， we are still faced with many common challenges. The cooperation between China and the U.S. is not only in the interests of the two peoples， but also bears important significance to the world peace and development.”

CPAFFC Vice President Xie Yuan said： “The completion and the opening of the Flying Tiger Guilin Heritage Park is the best tribute to the history of Chinese and American peoples fighting together against brutality and for justice and peace. The Chinese people will forever remember the valuable contributions made by the people of the world including the U.S. to the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. We shall work together to carry forward the spirit of cooperation and contribute to the building of a new model of China-US major country relationship.”

Gen. Whitehead： “By dedicating the Flying Tiger Heritage Park， we are honoring the joint friendship of Americans and Chinese forged during the darkest days of WWII. The cooperative spirit is vital to the development of our bilateral relationship. The Chinese people have never forgotten the Flying Tigers， nor have the Flying Tigers forgotten the sacrifices made by the Chinese people.”

He expressed gratitude to all levels of the Chinese governments for their great support to the project over the past nine years and hoped many Americans and Chinese would visit the heritage park to learn about and cherish the history and friendship between the two countries. He quoted from CPAFFC President Li Xiaolin’s speech on the Chinese dream of happiness and peace， “The dream of peace is also the dream of the world. Working with joined hands to transcend the differences of civilizations is the only choice for us to realize our dreams.”

After the opening ceremony， Chinese and American guests toured the park.