At the beginning of 1936 China Aviation Association launched a fundraising initiative to purchase aircraft for the China Republic Air Force as a tribute to Chairman Chiang Kai-shek 50th birthday.On July 3, 1936, the Aviation Committee under the Central Military Commission formally established the "Chiang Kai-shek Aircraft Dedication Commemoration Committee" /medal was issued to its members/.
Example of donation certificate issued on October 31, 1936 /Collection of National Development Council Archives Administration, New Taipei/.
At about 9 o'clock in the morning on October 31, 1936, Nanjing held the "Mr. Chiang Kai-shek's Birthday Presentation Ceremony." The ceremony kicked off at the Ming Palace Airport. Three platforms were set up in the venue. The central one was the ceremony platform. The front was decorated with pine branches and flowers, and the bottom was lined with green, white and red striped cloth. There were longevity couplets hung high on both sides of the ceremony platform. There is a giant airplane model at the top, accompanied by two small airplane models on both sides, with flags of "unification" and "national salvation." The portrait of Dr. Sun Yat-sen hangs in the middle of the ceremony platform, with a pine-colored longevity tablet placed below. According to reports, there were as many as 200,000 people from all walks of life attending the Ming Dynasty Forbidden City celebrations. At about 9:30, the air show began. A huge fleet of performance aircraft appeared in the sky above the venue. In the clear blue sky, thirty-six aircraft were neatly arranged in the word "Zhongzheng" (= Chiang Kai-shek). After the fleet circled for a while, they flew towards Nanjing. About ten minutes apart, two more fleets flew over the ceremony platform, both forming a "five" shape. They flew at low altitude, passed over people's heads, and distributed birthday flyers. Afterwards, the two teams of aircraft performed various technical performances, some doing somersaults, some diving like a falling comet, or soaring into the sky like an arrow leaving a string.
