Legacy of flying tigers lives on
Descendants of US veterans, young generations see value in cooperation, need for deeper ties across the Pacific
"We are so honored that you want to become part of our Flying Tigers association and our student program," he said.
The Anhui section of the Yangtze River was a key supply route during the war, and several Flying Tigers planes crashed in the region due to combat or mechanical failures.
In 2013, local fishermen from Huimin village under Anqing's Wangjiang county retrieved parts of three Flying Tigers planes from the river, including landing gear, engines and fuselage sections. The local government soon built an exhibition hall to house these historical remains, and many local students visited the hall.
"Now the students are connected to the Flying Tigers, and you are the new 'Flying Tigers'," Long told the students.
Zhang Zixuan, a student at Anqing No 2 Middle School, spoke with the US delegation during their trip to Anqing.
"I used to learn about the Flying Tigers only in the classroom, but by talking face-to-face with their descendants, I truly felt the warmth of this cross-border friendship," he said. "I will do my part to preserve this hard-won peace."
At the Wuhan University of Technology in Hubei province, students from both countries took part in the 2026 Flying Tigers Youth Leaders Dialogue in July, a major event boosting the exchange of views on topics of common interest.
David Cornelis Howe, a recent graduate of mechanical engineering from Alfred University, took the stage as a speaker at a special session on cutting-edge technologies.
The session allowed college students from China and the US to discuss tech ethics and collaboration.
"I'm a mechanical engineer … There will be a lot of AI involved in my job," he said. "It's a really interesting topic I get to talk about because in the past the engineers had to do everything on their own by hand, and now we are in this new age where the computers can do everything for us."
"It's really important that China and America work together on large engineering problems, because we are the two most powerful technological countries in the world — we could really do some great things together," he added.
