6 rare then-and-now photos of WWII China
By Xinhua-Globaltimes.cn, Published: 2015-07-21 14:10:28
Left: A US convoy carrying aid to China takes a twisty mountain road in Qinglong county, Guizhou Province in March, 1945. (File photo)

Right: The mountain road in Qinglong county, Guizhou Province pictured on June 24, 2015 Photo: Xinhua
Editor's Note:
Photos recently released by the Xinhua News Agency provide rare then-and-now views of sites in Southwest China that played important roles during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45).

Above: Wartime-era Huitong Bridge across the Nujiang river (Yunnan section) (Copy of file photo)

Below: The Huitong Bridge on July 6, 2015 Photo: Xinhua

The Huitong Bridge was built in 1933 with donations from patriotic overseas Chinese. The bridge, which makes up part of the Burma Road, was a key crossing point during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45).

Above: A jeep travels under the “Tiger Mouth” cliff near Huitong Bridge. (File photo)

Below: An SUV in the same spot on July 6, 2015 Photo: Xinhua

Located in Longling county, Tiger Mouth is a concave rock formation along the west bank of the Nujiang River (Yunnan section) that locals say resembles the open mouth of a tiger.
Above: Yunnanyi Airport pictured during World War II. (File photo)

Below: The site as pictured on June 29, 2015 Photo: Xinhua

Yunnanyi Airport was an important air base for the Allied Forces in the China-Myanmar-India Theater during World War II.
Above: A jeep travels across the Wanding Bridge to Myanmar after Stilwell Road was opened in January 1945. (File photo)

Below: The site as photographed on July 9, 2015 Photo: Xinhua

Meaning “bright sunshine” in the language of the local Dai ethnic minority, Wanding Bridge crosses the river that separates China and Myanmar and is the terminus of the Burma Road (China section). International aid was transported into wartime China on this bridge after the Burma Road opened in 1938.
Above: US army jeeps drive on the Burma Road in World War II-era China. (Copy of file photo)

Below: The same site as pictured on July 6, 2015 Photo: Xinhua