In 1944, the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression entered a critical phase. The Japanese invaders' aura of invincibility was beginning to crumble and their inevitable downfall was writ large. In the highlands of western Yunnan in southwest China, the Chinese forces were poised to annihilate the entrenched Japanese garrison.

The Chinese Expeditionary Force, comprising over 100,000 soldiers, was dispatched to Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) and India to fight Japanese forces alongside the Allies and safeguard China's southwestern supply routes. After the defeat in the 1942 Burma campaign, most of the forces retreated to Yunnan for training, while some were relocated to India, forming the Chinese Army in India. During this time, the United States sent weapons, supplies and troops to the China-Burma-India Theater.

In the 1944 counteroffensive in western parts of Yunnan, the American Volunteer Group, alias the Flying Tigers, provided crucial air support. A joint Chinese-American counteroffensive, launched from land and air, crashed into the enemy's heavily fortified positions. Amid blood and fire, attack and defense, sacrifice and liberation, Tengchong rose as an enduring landmark on the main eastern battlefield of the World War II.