Flying Tigers museum reopens after renovation in central China

A museum commemorating the Flying Tigers, a U.S. air squadron that helped the Chinese to fight the Japanese in World War II, reopened to the public Friday after six months of renovation.

The Flying Tigers Memorial Museum reopens to the public in Huaihua City of Hunan Province on September 22, 2017. [Photo: Chinanews.com]

Former aviators and their descendants attended a ceremony in the Flying Tigers Memorial Museum in Huaihua City of central China's Hunan Province.

According to the curator Wu Jianhong, the museum increased the number of exhibited items collected from the living members of the Flying Tigers and their families after the renovation.

"The displays are more interactive and high-tech," Wu said.

The Flying Tigers Memorial Museum reopens to the public in Huaihua City of Hunan Province on September 22, 2017. [Photo: Chinanews.com]

The museum also published the names of 882 Chinese aviators who fought alongside their American counterparts and died during the war.

Their names were added to the existing martyrs' wall which previously commemorated more than 2,000 American Flying Tigers.

Chen Kezhi, a 92-year-old former Flying Tiger, said he was determined to visit the museum after he heard that it was to reopen.

"I want to see my brothers in arms and listen to the stories of when they were young," Chen said.

The 1st American Volunteer Group, which the Chinese nicknamed the Flying Tigers for their courage, was formed in 1941 to help China drive out invading Japanese troops.

Covering an area of 3.5 hectares, the museum was built in 2005.