On a mission to preserve the habitats of Flying Tigers

When Ma Kuanchi was a tour guide with the China International Travel Agency in the 1980s, he accompanied many American veteran pilots to Yunnan province and Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region - places where they had once been based during World War II.

On those trips, Ma learned the history of the Flying Tigers.

It was before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, and the United States hadn't officially entered the war, but around 300 American pilots and ground crew had already come to Southwest China to fight against the Japanese air forces under the command of Claire Lee Chennault.