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xinhua news agency, hefei, september 11th: in early autumn, anqing is sunny and green. the yangtze river flows eastward from here and finally merges into the vast pacific ocean.

not far from the river bank, the exhibition hall of the wreckage of the flying tigers bombers that aided china, which is undergoing renovation and upgrading in huimin village, zhanghu town, wangjiang county, anqing city, anhui province, welcomed its first group of guests on the 10th - a delegation of the american flying tigers composed of members of the us-china aviation heritage foundation and descendants of flying tigers veterans.

“i traveled halfway around the world to the place where our fathers fought and sacrificed so much. i saw and touched the wreckage of the bomber for the first time. i will remember it all my life.” in the exhibition hall, 70-year-old green, chairman of the u.s.-china aviation heritage foundation, gazed affectionately at the wreckage of the flying tigers bomber in front of him, and occasionally reached out to touch it gently.

on september 10, in the exhibition room of the wreckage of the flying tigers bomber that aided china in huimin village, zhanghu town, wangjiang county, anqing city, anhui province, green, chairman of the us-china aviation heritage foundation, touches the wreckage of the flying tigers bomber. xinhua news agency reporter guo chen

"this huge witness of history was pulled up by a fishing net," said ma jinbing, a 56-year-old villager from hui village. in 2013, he and his fellow fishermen accidentally salvaged three fighter plane wreckages from the river, including landing gear, engines and part of the fuselage.

"when we first fished them out, our intuition told us that they were important, so we stayed on the shore day and night to guard them." ma jinbing said that after identification, the local government immediately built a showroom to protect and exhibit them, and he went there many times with his daughter, son-in-law, and relatives and friends.

over the past 10 years since the exhibition hall was built, more than 600,000 visitors have come, most of whom are young people from all over china. the most senior volunteer guide in the museum is 71-year-old retired teacher wang maofang, who said: "the true and touching stories still move the chinese who come to visit, and also inspire me to stick to it."

"the chinese people value friendship and righteousness. the historical story of us fighting together with american pilots during the war of resistance will surely be passed down from generation to generation in the future," said ma jinbing.

"thank you! everything you have done is amazing." after hearing the story, green hurried forward and shook hands. although they could not speak the same language, they could still communicate with each other.

in 1941, a group of young american pilots, led by general chennault, formed the american volunteer group to fight against the japanese fascist invasion. in december of the same year, they won the first battle over kunming. the chinese people affectionately called this unit the "flying tigers".

according to statistics, during the flying tigers' operations to aid china, more than 2,000 american flying tigers died in combat, and more than 200 members in distress were rescued by chinese people.

"95% of the pilots who landed were rescued by the chinese, and only a few fell into the hands of the japanese. no matter where the american pilots' parachutes fell, they would be rescued by the chinese..." chennault wrote in his memoir "the way of a warrior".

the chinese government has always cherished the deep friendship forged between the chinese and american peoples in the fight against japanese fascism. it recently announced for the first time a list of 2,590 american aviation heroes who fought against japanese aggression, established relevant museums, memorial halls and heritage parks in sichuan, hunan, yunnan and other places, and promoted the establishment of many "flying tigers friendship schools."

margaret kincannon, the daughter of flying tigers member james mills, is a witness and recorder of this history.

today, most americans don’t know the history of the flying tigers, and margaret kincannon hopes to promote this story through her new book. “we can also carry on what the older generation did.”

"it is very important to work together, and we still need this kind of relationship today." she told reporters that although the two peoples are separated on both sides of the pacific ocean and have different skin colors and races, they share the same aspirations for peace and justice.

margaret kincannon, daughter of james mills, a member of the flying tigers, photographs the wreckage of a flying tigers bomber in the exhibition room of the wreckage of the flying tigers bomber in huimin village, zhanghu town, wangjiang county, anqing city, anhui province, on september 10. xinhua news agency reporter guo chen

during this search trip, the american flying tigers delegation visited nanjing, jiangsu, zhijiang, hunan and other places.

"people-to-people exchanges can build mutual trust and understanding." wu jianhong, director of the zhijiang flying tigers memorial hall, said that the flying tigers memorial hall should not only show the public the history of china and the united states fighting side by side, but also record the inheritance of the friendship between the chinese and american peoples.

green is passionate about promoting mutual understanding and exchanges between chinese and american youth. "the exhibition hall of the wreckage of the flying tigers bomber in huimin village is a good carrier. our foundation is ready to participate in the renovation and construction of the venue here, and in the future we will also strive to establish friendly relations between american schools and local schools," he said.

when leaving the exhibition hall, green once again turned his head and looked back at the wreckage of the bomber, standing there for a long time.

(xinhua news agency)