China-US friendship music and storytelling event marks WWII anniversary

A commemorative event highlighting China-U.S. cooperation during World War II was held in Washington D.C. and New York on Wednesday and Friday, successively, marking the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

A commemorative event titled "Experience China – A Symphony of Stories on China-U.S. People-to-People Friendship" is held at the Chinese Embassy in the United States in Washington D.C., Aug. 27, 2025. [Photo provided to China.org.cn]

The event, titled "Experience China — A Symphony of Stories on China-U.S. People-to-People Friendship," was presented through a symphony and innovative immersive storytelling methods. Enhanced by music, the event invited narrators from China and the U.S. to recount five moving stories of wartime solidarity, including the Doolittle Raid rescue and the Flying Tigers' role in aiding China during the war against Japanese aggression.

Tong Lijuan, head of the Doolittle Raid Memorial Hall in eastern China's Quzhou city, joined descendants of U.S. airmen who participated in the Doolittle Raid, to recount the rescue of American pilots by Chinese civilians during World War II.

Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng attended the Washington program, while Consul General Chen Li participated in the New York session. Both viewed a photo and video exhibition on the Doolittle Raid rescue and received a book on the rescue.

Wang Qun (R), president of Quzhou Federation of Literary and Art Circles, presents a book on the Doolittle Raid rescue to Chen Li, consul general of China in New York, at a commemorative activity held in New York, Aug. 29, 2025. [Photo/China Intercontinental Communication Center]

Organizers said that, as the first nonfiction work dedicated to the rescue, the book is especially significant for providing an insightful perspective to WWII history.

In recent years, Quzhou has established a research community dedicated to the Doolittle Raid rescue, including hosting a number of international cultural exchanges under the theme "See You in Quzhou," aiming to strengthen people-to-people ties.