SISTERS OF HEAVEN

In the late 1930s, as the world moved closer to war, three Chinese women defied gender perceptions by becoming pilots. Driven by a fierce independent spirit, they realized their dream of flying, completed barnstorming goodwill missions across the Western hemisphere, and captured the imagination of all those whose lives they touched.

They were Hilda Yan, once China’s representative at the League of Nations; Li Xiaqing, known as film actress Li Dandan before becoming China’s “First Woman of the Air;” and Jessie Zheng, the only commissioned female officer in the Chinese Air Force.

In a story almost forgotten to history, Patti Gully’s exhaustive research delves into the lives of these women, uncovering their fascinating personalities, loves, passions, and above all their unwavering sense of patriotism and duty. In a time when virtually no Chinese woman could even drive a car, these aviatrixes used flight as a metaphor for their own freedom as well as a symbol of empowerment.

Paradoxically, despite their success, Gully also reveals how they struggled with chequered, stormy personal relationships, with wrecked marriages and the children they left behind the price they ultimately paid to realize their dream of flying.

Sisters of Heaven offers a rare look at lost era in aviation history, gender studies, and the history of China and the West.