In March 1946, the first flight school of the Communist Party of China armed forces was set up in Tonghua, Jilin, moving later to Changchun. The school is regarded as the top training facility of the PLA Air Force.
"Changchun can be called the second 'hometown' for pilots like me, where we started with our dream to reach the sky," Jilin Daily quoted He Xiaoli from the Bayi team as saying. She is one of the country's first female fighter jet pilots.