Nanqiao Jigong: The Extraordinary Story of Nanyang Drivers and Mechanics Who Returned to China during the Sino-Japanese War. 1939 - the Sino-Japanese War was at a critical stage. Most of China's port cities including Shanghai and Amoy had fallen into the hands of the invading Japanese forces. When Canton was captured in October 1938, China found its shipping routes almost completely cut off. Essential supplies that were badly needed at the war front were piling up in Hong Kong, a British colony then. China's last hope was the treacherous 1,146-kilometre Yunnan-Burma Road, which ran from Lashio town in Burma to Kunming city in Yunnan, China. Lacking experienced drivers and mechanics to keep this lifeline open, China looked towards Nanyang (Southeast Asia) for help. There, the overseas Chinese were already actively contributing to war efforts through massive donation drives and they also responded overwhelmingly to this call. Within days of the enlistment notice, some 2,300 volunteers came forward. Between February and August 1939, some 3,200 volunteers from various parts of Southeast Asia returned to China. One-third of them eventually died in the line of duty.