The Stilwell Road Museum in Tengchong, Baoshan

The Stilwell Road Museum (史迪威公路博物馆) in Tengchong (腾冲), Baoshan (保山), was established in April 2021 by collector Zhou Shicai (周世才). The museum houses over 1,077 historical artifacts, with a focus on the Yunnan-India-Burma theater (滇印缅战区) during World War II. The core collection includes military vehicles, industrial machinery, and ethnographic artifacts, with 27 military vehicles from the Stilwell Road (史迪威公路) as the central exhibits. These items collectively present a comprehensive view of the strategic transportation route used during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The museum’s architecture blends traditional wooden courtyard design with modern exhibition functions, preserving the local cultural heritage, and some of the World War II artifacts meet national heritage preservation standards.

Museum Overview

  • Opening Date: April 25, 2021

  • Number of Artifacts: Over 3,410 artifacts (as of 2023)

  • Type: Private Museum

  • Founder: Zhou Shicai (周世才)

  • Area: Over 2,300 square meters

  • Building Design: Traditional wooden Siheyuan (四合院) courtyard style

Historical Development

The museum was officially approved for establishment on April 25, 2021. Its precursor was a personal collection started by Zhou Shicai in 2014. With more than twenty years of collecting Chinese and foreign historical relics, the museum gradually grew to become the largest World War II-themed private museum in Western Yunnan. According to publicly available data from 2023, the number of artifacts has doubled since its initial founding.

Featured Collections

The museum’s core collection includes:

Military Vehicles

  • 27 Original World War II Military Vehicles: These include military trucks, jeeps, and ambulances, some of which are equipped with U.S. military fuel pipes, ammunition boxes, and other battlefield relics.

Industrial Heritage

  • Early 20th-century British mechanical items like the Raleigh bicycle and Triumph motorcycle, as well as a 1934 Chrysler Beetle from the United States.

Ethnographic Artifacts

  • Local cultural items such as traditional ox carts and horse-drawn carts from the Yunnan-Burma region, as well as Western industrial relics from the modern era.

Historical Documents and Archives

  • Photographs and furniture used by General Stilwell (史迪威) during his time in Myanmar are also part of the collection.

Building Structure and Layout

The main building of the museum is a traditional wooden Siheyuan-style courtyard structure, covering an area of 2,300 square meters. The layout includes:

  • Central Exhibition Area: Displaying 27 World War II military vehicles and related equipment.

  • East and West Wing Rooms: Dedicated to exhibitions on industrial heritage.

  • Southern Side Rooms: Housing the Yunnan-Burma regional cultural artifacts.

The building itself preserves key aspects of Tengchong’s traditional construction techniques, such as the roof eaves and dougong (斗拱), while integrating modern exhibition functions.

Social Education and Academic Value

As a private, capital-driven thematic museum, the Stilwell Road Museum holds a collection of over 3,410 World War II artifacts (as of 2023), many of which have been certified by the National Cultural Relics Appraisal. Key academic contributions include:

  • The military truck components serve as rare physical evidence of the Stilwell Road transport system, offering insight into the logistics of the war.

  • U.S.-made fuel pipes and other remnants confirm the technical standards used in transporting supplies along the China-India Road (中印公路).

  • The British industrial machinery collection fills a gap in China’s modern technological history.

Some of the museum’s World War II relics are considered unique in China, making them invaluable resources for research into the history of China’s resistance during World War II.