Journalists\r\n take photo of the Memorial for the Site of the First National Congress \r\nof the Communist Party of China in Shanghai, which reopens on June 3, \r\n2021. [Photo by Gao Erqiang/chinadaily.com.cn]

After more than a year and a half of renovation and expansion, the \r\nMemorial for the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China\r\n in Shanghai opened on Thursday for the upcoming centenary of the \r\nfounding of the Party in July.

The expanded memorial in the city's Huangpu district includes an \r\nexhibition hall where visitors can view 1,168 historical relics, photos \r\nand diagrams illustrating the history of the founding of the Party. In \r\naddition, there is a preserved hall where Party members take their \r\nadmission oath, and the renovated original site where 13 Chinese \r\ndelegates and two foreign representatives from the Communist \r\nInternational attended the First CPC National Congress in July 1921.

"This place has witnessed the groundbreaking event of the founding of\r\n the Party, which marked the great start of the Chinese revolution, \r\ncarried the great dream of the Party, and inherited the great spirit of \r\nParty members. It's the eternal glory of the city to be the birthplace \r\nof the Party," said Li Qiang, the Party secretary of Shanghai, at the \r\nopening ceremony.

Li emphasized that the city will make full use of the rich resources of the Party to promote its culture and history.

The exhibition hall, called Epoch-Making Beginnings: Founding of the \r\nCommunist Party of China, spans 3,700 square meters－a more than \r\nthreefold increase from the previous memorial, which has been open to \r\nthe public for free since 1952.

Key exhibits cover 72 translated versions of The Communist Manifesto \r\nby the great German thinkers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels; medals \r\ncommemorating the 1911 Revolution, from October 1911 to February 1912, \r\nwhich ended China's last imperial dynasty; flyers from the May Fourth \r\nMovement of 1919; and a toolkit used by the martyr Li Bai, who died in \r\n1949 at the age of 39 in the fight to liberate the country.

Some exhibits have been donated by the public. Among them is a \r\nlogbook recording the duties of the Chinese military before Shanghai's \r\nliberation in May 1949, and relevant policies after the liberation. The \r\nlogbook was donated this year by Liu Shaling, a Shanghai resident.

"I found it when I sorted out the belongings of my late parents. I \r\nhope it will be useful in teaching the new generations to inherit the \r\nrevolutionary spirit of the Party and to understand the country's \r\nhistory," said Liu, who served as deputy Party secretary, from 1992 to \r\n2004, of the previous Memorial for the Site of the First Congress of the\r\n Communist Party of China.

Technology is used in the hall to create a better visitor experience, according to Hu Xiaoyun, chief designer of the exhibition.

A sand table of over 20 square meters presents a miniature landscape \r\nmodel of Shanghai in the 1920s, showcasing local landmarks related to \r\nthe Party's growth from 1921 to 1933 through multimedia.

The whole meeting process of the First National Congress of the CPC \r\nin 1921 is displayed in a 300 sq m space in the hall, through \r\nholographic projection and "naked-eye" 3D technology.

One of the decoration highlights is a 3-meter-long, 7-meter-high oil \r\npainting, which depicts the first group of 58 Party members in China \r\nstriding forward.

"We did research on every Party member's life including their \r\nprofession before the founding of the Party. These factors are taken \r\ninto account in their clothing styles and appearance in the artwork. \r\nOverall, they are marching in firm steps, as they had the motivation and\r\n confidence to change the country," said Chen Shudong, one of the \r\npainters of the work and a member of the Chinese Artists Association.

Titled Epoch-making Beginnings: Founding of the Communist Party of China, the exhibition hall features 612 cultural relics -- five times more than in the previous memorial.

Key exhibits cover the 72 versions of The Communist Manifesto\r\n by German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels and 100 \r\nnewspapers and magazines that spread Marxism and socialism thoughts \r\naround the period of the May Fourth Movement (1917-21).

"This place has witnessed the groundbreaking event of the founding of\r\n the Party, which marked the great start of the Chinese revolution, \r\ncarried the great dream of the Party, and inherited the great spirit of \r\nParty members. It's the eternal glory of the city to be the birthplace \r\nof the Party," said Li Qiang, the Party secretary of Shanghai, at the \r\nopening ceremony.

Li stressed that the city will make full use of the rich resources of the Party to promote its culture and history.