China opened a civil airport in Tengchong County in the southwestern Yunnan Province Monday at the border between the country and Myanmar.

That's the location where the Flying Tigers, a band of U.S. fighter pilots, helped China fight against the Japanese invasion during World War II.

The air route will cut the travel time to the provincial capital of Kunming from Tengchong to 50 minutes. It currently takes 10 hours by road.

The airport launched three flights between Kunming and Tengchong every day and would open other routes linking the county with other tourist sites in Yunnan, including Lijiang and Xishuangbanna, according to Zou Huiyu, spokesman for the Yunnan Airport Group.