 In March 1913, President Yuan Shikai moved the battalion to Nanyuan Airport in Beijing, and Lee was appointed chief flight instructor as well as head of maintenance.In September 1913, he became the chief instructor of the Nanyuan Aviation School; he was promoted to head of the school five years later.On 10 and 11 March 1914, Lee and two other pilots flew between Beijing and Baoding, establishing China's first airline route.