Chinese artillery in action against the Japanese during the battle for Shantung. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images). 2nd February 1938

The Kwantung army (Chinese) rushing to the front lines, five miles south-east of Waichon. The Japanese occupied the town on 15th October 1938. (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)

Chinese soldiers and labourers carry parts of an American leased Jeep over mountain trails for re-assembly on the repaired section of the Burma Road in China. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images). Circa 1939

A group of Chinese soldiers squatting and eating from bowls with chopsticks. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). 25th March 1939

A group of Chinese soldiers. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). Circa 1940

Chinese troops train for fitness and discipline. This group are candidates for commissions within the army. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1942

A Chinese soldier in camouflage runs towards a new position somewhere in Burma. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images). Circa 1942

Chinese soldiers showing off a collection of Japanese tin helmets after defeating the Japanese in the Battle of the Upper Yangtze. The horse in the background is also a captured trophy. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images). 1st September 1943

Two Chinese Red Army militia men plant a potato masher grenade in a farmer's doorway as a killer trap. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1944

Chinese troops during the Battle of Changteh, the strategic city in the heart of China's rice-growing area. It changed hands four times in forty days. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images). Circa 1944

The Americans retain a close relationship with the Chinese Nationalist government by providing qualified military instructors for troop training. Here Chinese soldiers can be seen on manoeuvres near Chiay-i. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images). Circa 1944

Empty cases, which some days ago were packed with millions of newly printed currency notes, are used to build barricades to control a possible rush by refugees anxious to obtain their promised payments. (Photo by Harrison Forman/Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1944

Chinese girls receiving tuition in the use of rifles at their barracks. Over 20,000 girls have so far been trained for service with the Chinese army. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images). Circa 1944

A Chinese machine gunner takes aim in the ruins of a Chinese city. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images). Circa 1944

Civilians watch part of a convoy of Chinese troops driving down a city street. (Photo by Express/Express/Getty Images). China, 1945

Members of the Communist New Fourth Army on parade. Note how the modern equipment contrasts with the shoeless soldiers in the foreground. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). 6th July 1946

Chinese communist troops who are involved in the attack on Shanghai. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images). 21st May 1949

A Chinese soldier hiding in the grass with a long bayonet at a border point. (Photo by Evans/Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1950

Rifle training with the Chinese Nationalist Women's Army. (Photo by Fernand Gigon/Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1950

Turkish UN troops search captured Chinese troops for weapons during the Korean War. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images). 8th December 1950

Chinese People's Liberation Army fighters demonstrating in Peking. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). 1955

A wounded soldier being flown off the island of Quemoy to Taiwan during a ceasefire between the Nationalist forces and the Chinese Communists. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images). 1958

Korean girls present a member of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army with a bouquet of flowers prior to the mass withdrawal of Chinese troops from North Korea. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images). 29th March 1958

Members of the Chinese People's Liberation Army shouting slogans on the streets of Peking (Beijing) in support of Premier Chou En-lai's statement on the situation in the Formosa Straits. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images). 13th September 1958

Lines of National Chinese Army marching in Peking with rifles. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images). 12th August 1961

A line of Nationalist Chinese Frogmen, who form the “Silent Service” of the Quemoy Defence Command, wearing army shorts and holding pairs of fins are briefed by one of their commanding officers on a Quemoy beach. (Photo by Keystone Features/Getty Images). September 1961

A Red Chinese guard at Luhu Bridge, Hong Kong, takes a photograph of the photographer for official files. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1965

circa 1970: Chinese Red Guards reading from the little red book of “Thoughts of Chairman Mao” before starting their day. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

In Maoist China, Shanghai girls are taught how to kill with bayonetted rifles, demonstrated here in an exercise drill. (Photo by McCarthy/Getty Images). 1973