Gu Songfen

Two years later, the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out and Japanese warplanes bombed the Xiyuan Barracks of the Chinese 29th Army on 28 July 1937.

[2][3] To escape Japanese occupation, in 1938 Gu Tinglong moved the family to the Shanghai French Concession, where he helped establish the United Library (合众图书馆).

After the end of the war, Songfen graduated from high school in 1947 and entered National Chiao Tung University, Shanghai to study aeronautical engineering.

[2] In October 1964, the Chinese government decided to design and build its first high-speed, high-altitude interceptor fighter jet, later named the Shenyang J-8.

[2] The project was delayed by the outbreak of the Cultural Revolution 1966, but the J-8 completed its maiden flight on 5 July 1969, which is considered another milestone in the development of China's aviation industry.

[2] In November 1985, the J-8 project won the Special Prize of the State Science and Technology Progress Award, and Gu was named as the first recipient.

[2] Gu was transferred to Beijing in 1986 to serve as Deputy Director of the national government's Aviation Industry and Technology Commission.