Wujiaba is among the oldest airports in China, with a history that can be traced back to about 100 years, and was first established into a military airbase and flight-training institute under the supervision of local warlord General Tang Jiyao in 1922; an additional 23 airports would be established in Yunnan from 1922-1929.

[1] The Sino-Japanese War was the beginning of World War II in Asia,[2] and following the Battles of Shanghai and Nanjing, the Chinese Central Air Force Academy had to be relocated from Jianqiao Airbase to the expanded Wujiaba Airport.

[3] After a few years of support of the Chinese Air Force under the Sino-Soviet Cooperation in the War of Resistance against the Empire of Japan, the United States began to show earnest support for China's war effort with the oil embargo and asset freezing against Japan in 1941,[4] and Wujiaba became the base for the "legendary Flying Tigers", the American Volunteer Group (AVG) of combat airmen serving in the Chinese Air Force, led by Claire Lee Chennault just before the United States entered the war.

After the war ended in 1945, a 1,390-mile (2,224 kilometer) route east to Clark Air Base in the Philippines was established.

[8] This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency