Flying Tigers youth delegation visits China-US friendship exhibition

Jeffrey Greene, chairman of the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation, and a delegation of US Flying Tigers youth representatives visited a special exhibition on people-to-people exchanges between China and the United States at the Overseas Chinese History Museum of China in Beijing on Sunday.

Wang Linggui, chairman of the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, accompanied the delegation during the visit.

The exhibition, which opened on June 27, features 100 artifacts, including mining tools, railroad spikes, agricultural implements, documents, newspapers, dining utensils, wartime medals and personal belongings of notable figures. Together, they trace the arduous journey of overseas Chinese in the United States and their contributions to US history.

Greene and the young visitors carefully examined the artifacts, reflecting on the wartime alliance and the friendship forged in the flames of battle.

"It's basic humanity. To me, it's the strongest and most emotional story of World War II," Greene said. He noted that the foundation has launched the Flying Tiger Friendship School program, bringing Americans to China to learn stories from Chinese families connected to the Flying Tigers.

"When they go home, they tell their families and friends that something extraordinary happened between the American airmen and the Chinese people," he added. "Americans and Chinese have the responsibility to cooperate, not only for ourselves, but for the planet."

Amilyanna Marie Person, a high school student from the US, said it is "really important" to learn about the Flying Tigers and the connections they forged because the subject is not taught in American schools.

"I think it's something to be remembered because sometimes people want to put countries against each other while we should be together and really learn more about the country and people that you are connecting with," she said.

The exhibition, which runs through the summer, underscores that China-US relations are rooted in the people, built on grassroots exchanges and that their future lies in the hands of the younger generation.