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.