A delegation consisting of 32 Flying Tigers veterans, their relatives and members of the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation, visited Liuzhou from Saturday to Monday with the aim of passing down the legacy of the Flying Tigers. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"It is dreamlike for me to shake hands and communicate with the Flying Tigers veterans," said Qin Xianlan, a student from Huxi Experimental Middle School in Liuzhou, Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

A delegation consisting of 32 Flying Tigers veterans, their relatives and members of the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation, visited Liuzhou from Saturday to Monday with the aim of passing down the legacy of the Flying Tigers and strengthen the communication and exchange between Chinese and American youth.

On Sunday the delegation visited Huxi Experimental Middle School and witnessed the launching ceremony of the Flying Tigers Friendship School and Youth Leadership Program.

Last September, the program was started by the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation, in cooperation with the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in San Francisco at the Jack Lund Schofield Middle School in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The school's mascot is the Flying Tiger in honor of that legacy.

The Foundation has promoted the formation of friendship schools in several provinces of China.

In June of this year, Huxi Experimental Middle School held an online signing ceremony with the Jack Lund Schofield Middle School and became a Flying Tigers Friendship School.

"This Program establishes an incentive fund to reward young people in China and the United States in various forms, so that they can enhance their understanding through mutual communication and learning," said Jeffrey Greene, Chairman of the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation.

After the program, both sides will organize mutual visits between teachers and students and hold a variety of shared activities, all intended to promote greater harmony between the two nations through increased recognition of the historical significance of the Flying Tigers.

"When American students and Chinese students communicate face-to-face and hand in hand, a connection will be established." In the eyes of Nell Calloway, granddaughter of General Claire Lee Chennault, this is the significance of establishing this program.

Currently, the No 4 Middle School of Zhijiang Dong autonomous county in Hunan province has also joined the program.

Entering the Huxi Experimental Middle School, Flying Tigers elements can be seen everywhere. The students combined the Flying Tigers theme with traditional Chinese crafts such as tie-dyeing, folding fans, and kites, and presented them as gifts to the representatives of the Flying Tigers.

Touched by the enthusiasm of the Chinese students, 103-year-old veteran Harry Moyer and Melvin McMullen, 98, told the students their stories during the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

A delegation consisting of 32 Flying Tigers veterans, their relatives and members of the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation, visited Liuzhou from Saturday to Monday with the aim of passing down the legacy of the Flying Tigers. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Luo Yuanjun, the principal of Huxi Experimental Middle School, hopes that through this program, friendly seeds will be sown between the young people of the two schools.

In 1941, General Claire Lee Chennault of the United States established the "American Volunteer Group" (Flying Tigers) of the China Air Force to fight against Japanese aggressors together with the Chinese military and civilians.

During their mission to support China, over 2,000 American Flying Tigers sacrificed their lives in battle, and more than 200 were rescued by the Chinese people.

Liuzhou is one of the places where the Flying Tigers fought.

Harry Moyer expressed his surprise that many Chinese students know the story of the Flying Tigers. He said that with the establishment of the Flying Tigers Friendship School between the two countries, the younger generation will deepen friendships and remember the bond between the two sides.

A delegation consisting of 32 Flying Tigers veterans, their relatives and members of the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation, visited Liuzhou from Saturday to Monday with the aim of passing down the legacy of the Flying Tigers. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A delegation consisting of 32 Flying Tigers veterans, their relatives and members of the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation, visited Liuzhou from Saturday to Monday with the aim of passing down the legacy of the Flying Tigers. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A delegation consisting of 32 Flying Tigers veterans, their relatives and members of the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation, visited Liuzhou from Saturday to Monday with the aim of passing down the legacy of the Flying Tigers. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

By Zhang Li in Nanning