In the center of Kunming, the three-story Western-style building known as Xiaobailou stands with its signature white-painted brick, stone, and wood walls. Built in the 1930s, this structure originally housed the Kunming office of the China National Aviation Corporation. During World War II, it became a social club where pilots of the First American Volunteer Group, the Flying Tigers, gathered to rest. On December 20, 1941, after their first combat victory over Kunming—where they shot down six Japanese bombers—pilots crowded into the basement bar to celebrate with the local population.

Inside, history is felt through physical objects. A scale model of a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, sporting its iconic shark-mouth nose art designed by Walt Disney, hangs from the ceiling. Visitors can touch the memory of the war through the heavy leather flight jackets on display, complete with silk "blood chits" sewn onto the back to help downed pilots communicate with Chinese civilians. Nearby, the personal letters, medals, and flight records of a young pilot named "Catfish" Raynes, who helped block the enemy at the Nu River, offer a quiet look at individual sacrifice. Outside, a massive DC-3 transport propeller, which once flew the treacherous Hump Route over the Himalayas, rests as a silent monument.

Today, visitors sit amid the sound of nostalgic jazz, drinking ginger cola and General Chennault's coffee. This space connects the past to the present, preserving the alliance between Chinese civilians and American pilots.