The Archives of Nanyang Volunteer Drivers and Mechanics (Nanqiao Jigong) focus on more than 3,000 drivers and mechanics residing in Nanyang (an old Chinese name for Southeast Asia) who provided international material transportation during the Sino-Japanese War and World War II. The nominated archives consist of original, mostly hand-written documents generated in the process of recruitment, deployment and repatriation of overseas chinese volunteers as truck drivers during 1937-1947.
The documents are not only a record of wartime support by civilian volunteers from the overseas chinese community but also a testimony of the distinctive bonds between Chinese homeland and emigrant society in Southeast Asian countries.