战时海外华人帮助运送物资

China's fight took place both inside and outside the country. A large number of overseas Chinese made great contributions to the war effort. A group of them known as the Nan Qiao Ji Gong served as volunteer drivers and mechanics for the Chinese army.

These elderly people live in various places, many in China and Southeast Asia. Their average age is over 90 years old. 70 years ago, they were all part of the team of 3,200 overseas Chinese, who left their wealthy life in Southeast Asia for their motherland amid the flames of war. They worked as drivers and mechanics on the Burma Road to transport supplies to the Chinese army.

People called them Nan Qiao Ji Gong. 97-year-old Luo Kaihu remembers:" I believe that every man has a share of responsibility for the fate of his country. When we heard the call of the overseas Chinese leader, Chen Jiageng, we came back immediately."

In 1938, all of China's ports were occupied by Japan. Supplies from overseas could only be sent in through the Burma Road which connects to southwest China. Under the call of the famous leader Chen Jiageng, the overseas Chinese community bought 1,000 trucks for the Chinese army. Chen also called on the young and able-bodied men, to return and join the war effort as drivers and mechanics.

20-year-old Luo Kaihu heeded the call and left his home in Malaysia. Driving on the Burma Road was full of bumps and dangers. By the end of the war, over half of the 3,200 drivers and mechanics had died from Japanese bombings, car accidents and malaria.

"The road was so dangerous. We had to pass tests. If you couldn’t turn the truck around in some places, you failed. Many of us had malaria. I did, too. When I felt sick, I stopped the truck and took a rest, then I kept on driving," Luo said.

"I'll never regret it. All overseas Chinese share the same passion for their motherland. None of us ran away when we were in the war."

Today, two monuments in the southwest province of Yunnan stand in honour of the Nan Qiao Ji Gong, one in Kunming and the other in Wanding.

This monument was built in 1989. It's the first in China to commemorate the overseas Chinese drivers and mechanics who took part in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. Every year, thousands of people come here to pay their respects to those who served, and those who died.

Now, only about thirteen of these overseas Chinese are still around to tell their stories, with the hope that their spirit and memories will live on.