Eric's Beijing Diary

Kunming, China. Sitting here at Ming Tien Coffee Language looking out the window at the sun coming up over the small man made lake. Kunming. In terms of climate, this is a very unique city. Kunming has the same elevation as Denver, Colorado, and the same lattitude as Honolulu, Hawaii. This unusual combination gives Kunming a year-round spring time climate. This is why Kunming is known as the City of Eternal Spring. This city has come a long way since the days before World War I, when the Japanese planes flew up once a day from Burma to drop a bunch of bombs. No apparent reason--probably just an attempt to soften the resolve fo the people to prepare for the conquering forces moving west from Manchuria. The solution to this problem came in the form of the Flying Tigers. They were American airmen who had all volunteered to help defend China in the air from the Japanese bombers from Burma. But there was a problem. The United States was not at war with Japan at that time, so if captured, these airmen could be tried as war criminals. They got around this by joining the Chinese Air Force under Jiang Jieshi (Chiang Kai-shek). The commander, of course, was Claire Chenault. The Flying Tigers set up their base here in Kunming. So, one day, the Japanese bombers flew up from Burma on one of their daily bombing missions, and got the surprise of their lives. The Flying Tigers came swooping in, seemingly out of nowhere, and blew the Japanese bombers out of the sky. That day marked the last time in history that Kunming was bombed.

Labels: Summer 2004