The history nobody knew

By Ye Jun (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-09-22 14:13

The "24-zig", a steep mountain road named after its 24 zigzag turns, was a symbol of the doggedness shown by Chinese people and their American allies in World War II. Ge Shuya discovered the road in Guizhou province. Courtesy of Ge Shuya

In 1942, when the China Expedition Army first came to Burma at the request of the British colonial government, 50,000 died in battle or in retreat. In the battles to recover northern Burma between 1943-45, 15,000-20,000 more Chinese soldiers lost their lives, and 20,000 died in the battle to retake western Yunnan. Nearly 100,000 Chinese had given their lives in that part of the anti-Japanese war.

"Local Chinese expatriates told us we were the first Chinese mainland people to visit there in 60 years," Ge says. When they returned to Kunming, they showed the pictures of Ramgarh to three former China Expedition Army soldiers, now in their 80s. They confirmed that some of the buildings had been their barracks.

Ge's visit to the old sites of the Stilwell Road was part of a revisit tour to mark the 70th anniversary of the building of the road in Aug 1938. Ge acted as a guide and historical expert to a team of more than 100 reporters from 60 Chinese media outlets. The team started from Anshun of Guizhou province, passed Kunming and Tengchong in Yunnan and part of the team later reached Myitkyina in Burma.

They visited the Huitong Bridge on Nujiang River, blown several times to stop Japanese invasion, and Songshan Mountain, where 20,000 Chinese soldiers were killed or injured in the battle to regain the Burma Road.

In Myanmar, they visited Esther Po, a Burmese nurse who won the Bronze Star Medal from the American Army and who claims to have saved more Chinese than people from other countries in the War.

"I've realized the wildest dream of my life - to complete the entire route of the Stilwell Road at one time," Ge says.

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