Fan Jianchuan, curator of the Jianchuan Museum, speaks during an interview in southwest China's Sichuan Province, Aug. 26, 2020. (Xinhua/Shen Bohan)
CHENGDU, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- At an exhibition held Friday in southwest China's Sichuan Province, the wreckage of a United States Army C-87 transportation airplane caught the attention of many visitors.
The plane was flown during World War II by U.S. pilots tasked with transporting goods to southwest China along the famous "Hump" air route to help China's fight against Japanese aggression.
"No matter how the Sino-U.S. relationship changes, now or in the future, the Chinese and American people will never forget the episode in history in which we fought together and supported each other as allies," said Fan Jianchuan, curator of the Jianchuan Museum, where the wreckage is housed.
The Hump route ran between the Indian state of Assam and China's Sichuan, passing over the Himalayas. It was established in 1942 and closed in 1945.
With 650,000 tonnes of goods transported via the route, it was a crucial channel in China's war-time logistics system, which was weak at that time.
The wreckage of the plane was first discovered by locals in 1993 at the top of a mountain in Bomi County, in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. At that time, there were not sufficient resources to move the plane, although some of the airmen's remains were brought down from the glacier.
It was not until August 2015 that the wreckage and more remains of U.S. airmen were moved to lower ground. Later that year, China handed over the remains to representatives from the United States.
A section in the Jianchuan Museum was dedicated to the American Volunteer Group, whose members came to be known as the "Flying Tigers."
The special section, named the Hall of Heroes of the Flying Tigers, features over 3,000 exhibits telling of the heroic deeds of the U.S. servicemen fighting alongside the Chinese during WWII.
Among them is a photo of the girlfriend of U.S. veteran Robert Gruber, which was kept in a frame made from the wreckage of Japanese planes.
After joining the war, Gruber lost contact with his girlfriend and never found her again. He remained single all his life.
"After seeing the photo and hearing about Gruber's story, many Chinese visitors were moved," said Fan.
Thursday marked the 75th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. Enditem
