Overseas Chinese Workers Commemorated

In Wanding， a small town in Ruili， Yunnan Province， along China’s southwest border， lies a unique structure — the Southeast Asian Overseas Chinese Workers Monument. The monument commemorates the 3，200 Chinese workers who rushed to transport supplies to the battlefront during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in the late 1930’s and early 1940’s. Originally Chinese， these workers had settled in Southeast Asia. However， when crisis struck， they immediately returned to China to aid the re-sistance effort.

Patriotism in the National Crisis

Beginning in 1938， sea and land transportation in southeast China was severed by the Japanese military， and the newly-built Burma Road stood as a major channel for international aid supplies. When Guangzhou fell under Japanese control in 1938， the Southwest China General Transportation Department in Yunnan Province’s Kunming telegrammed Tan Kah Kee， the chairman of the Association of Overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia， to recruit Chinese workers to help bring supplies to China. Tan agreed immediately. Thus， the bumpy Burma Road， which extends 1，146 kilometers， became the battlefield for overseas Chinese patriots.

In 1939， at the urging of Tan， more than 3，200 young overseas Chinese operators and mechanics joined a team to help resupply China. These workers came from Malaysia， Singapore， Thailand， Myanmar， the Phil-ippines， Indonesia and other countries across Southeast Asia.

Relying on their professional skills， extraordinary intelligence and bravery， the workers overcame all kinds of obstacles to complete their missions. They traveled across China， Myanmar， India and a handful of other countries. Rushing along the bumpy roads of Yunnan， Guizhou， Sichuan， Guangxi and Hunan in southern China， they provided logistics assistance to the Chinese army. Along the border between Yunnan Province and Myanmar， a steep cliff and rugged road kept most others out， but the workers found a way across. Busy transporting supplies and repairing vehicles day and night， they managed to maintain the Chinese army’s supply chain.

However， due to bombardment from the Japanese military and crippling tropical diseases， more than 1，000 workers died. After their mission was completed， about 1，000 workers who survived returned to their resident countries， while the remaining 1，000 or so stayed in China.

Up until the time the Burma Road was finally shut down in May 1942， supplies from allied countries such as firearms， ammunition and gasoline were mainly transported into China through these overseas Chinese operators and mechanics. Total supplies they delivered exceeded 450，000 tons. At the same time， supplies from China were also transported along the Burma Road to Myanmar， before being shipped to other allied countries.

Everlasting Monument

Covering nearly 27，000 square meters， the monument park has completed two out of three construction phases. Phase one is the construction of monument， which was completed with the fund raised by Lim Xiaochang， the foster son of Lim Hock Lai， one of the overseas Chinese workers who settled down in Wanding. Construction of the monument began on the 60th anniversary of victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression， and was finished on Dec. 11， 2005. Upon completion， the monument drew great interest both at home and abroad， and many veterans and their descendants have come to pay their respects.

Phase two is the construction of a memorial museum， which began on Sept. 3， 2014 and was completed on Aug. 27， 2015. The museum was designed like a broken bridge shaped as a triangle， which symbolizes the 3，000 workers’ three years of contributions to the Chinese resistance effort. The monument also resembles a “V” for “Victory”.

Between the entrance and exit lie 50 steps， each one symbolizing 10，000 tons of supplies delivered. Along with the local landscape， a 20 meters’ long， 20 meters’ high overpass was also built here， the same length as Wanding Bridge. Each meter symbolizes 10，000 civilians who participated in the construction of the Burma Road. The Bridge was built with granite； the integrity of the stone’s texture symbolizes the lofty patriotism of the workers.

Since construction was completed， the monument park was named a Patriotic Education Site by the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese and the government of Yunnan Province. In August 2015， China’s State Council added the park to its list of National Memorial Sites for the War of Resistance. In November 2015， the park was named a National Defence Education Demonstration Base in Yunnan Province. In May 2016， the park was labelled an anti-corruption education base in Dehong Prefecture， and was added to the provincial list of “red tourism” attractions， or historical sites with a revolutionary legacy.

Behind the monument lies a stone relief corridor， engraved with the story of returned overseas Chinese workers who endured hardships to assist China’s war of resistance. On the right side is a stone tablet with an inscribed timeline of events. The relief pictures in the middle are themed on “Summoning”， “See-off”， “Road-Paving”， “Iron Shuttles”， “Through the Fire” and “Victory”， respectively， each of which tells different phases of the story. On the left side of the corridor is a list of the names of those who participated in the resupply efforts. Below the relief pictures is a drawing called “The Gathering of Peacocks”， referring to Dehong Prefecture， the hometown of peacocks. In front of the corridor stand six columns， representing the 60th anniversary of victory over Japanese aggression.

There are other similar monuments that can be found in China and Southeast Asia. In 1947， the Overseas Chinese Fund in Kuala Selangor built a monument at the Kwong Tong Cemetery in Kuala Lumpur， and in May 1989， to mark the 50th anniversary of the return of overseas Chinese operators and mechanics to join the anti-Japanese war， the government of Yunnan Province built another monument at Xishan Park in Kunming.