Beijing. A grand exhibition of achievements in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China opened to the public on Tuesday at the Beijing Exhibition Center where visitors told the Global Times they felt proud and excited about the country’s accomplishments.

Sprawling over 155,000 square meters in downtown Beijing, the exhibition showcases China’s achievements over the past 70 years in chronological order.

A letter from former North Korean leader to chairman Mao Zedong and a Chinese scientist’s Nobel Prize medal are among items on display.

The Chinese nation has stood up, grown rich and become stronger over the past decades, President Xi Jinping said during his visit to the exhibition on Monday.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, stressed the importance of holding such an exhibition as it encourages the whole Party, the whole nation and its people to make continuous efforts for the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation.

Xi also said that the historic achievements China has made in the past seven decades and the historic changes it has undergone fully demonstrate that only the CPC can lead China; only with socialism can we save China; only with reform and opening-up can we develop China, develop socialism and develop Marxism; and only with the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics can we lead China toward prosperity and strength.

Wang Qiusheng, a 73-year-old Beijinger, told the Global Times on Tuesday after visiting the exhibition that “I feel very proud and excited China has gained so many achievements. The Party has led us to win independence, lift us out of poverty, and led us to enjoy a colorful life.”

“I’m really grateful to the Party’s efforts in bringing such a better life to us,” said Wang.

Grand achievements

The exhibition features the socialist path with Chinese characteristics and building a socialist modern country. It comprises five chapters showing how Chinese people, under the CPC leadership, established and developed socialism and worked to build a modern socialist country.

The exhibition displays materials related to each national congress of the CPC, important plenary sessions of the CPC Central Committee and five-year plans.

It also selected 150 fields where China has made the top. The Beijing-Jiujiang-Kowloon railway that opened in 1996 is the longest dual-track railway China has ever built.

In 2007, the first unmanned Chinese lunar-orbiting spacecraft Chang’e-1 was launched.

In 2015, Tu Youyou won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, the first time a Chinese woman won the Nobel Prize.

Tu Youyou’s Nobel Prize medal and relevant documents are displayed at the exhibition.

The original return capsule of China’s first human spaceflight mission, launched in 2003, and the first Chinese national flag taken into space are also on display.

Tan Hualin, director of the Human Resource Department at Beihang University, took dozens of teachers, faculty members and students to the exhibition on Tuesday.

Tan told the Global Times the exhibition shows the great development made by the Chinese people under the leadership of the Party, clearly demonstrates the political superiority of the Party’s leadership and China’s socialist system, and reveals the profound truth behind the great changes in China over 70 years.

After viewing Chinese aeronautic and astronautic achievements, Tan said the university would continuously cultivate talent and help build the country stronger.

Tan noted that the university would organize more students to visit the exhibition.

A letter to Chairman Mao Zedong from former North Korean leader Kim Il-sung is displayed at the exhibition.

The letter requested China to deploy its army for assistance in the Korean War (1950-53).

The telegram sent by Mao to Kim and Mao’s draft order to form the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army (CPVA) and assign Peng Dehuai as the commander are also displayed.

Inspiration for development

Deng Xin, 64, daughter of Deng Hua, CPVA deputy commander during the Korean War, said the exhibition could help people recall the spirit of fighting and encourage them to continue to be patriotic, work hard and never fear the bully from foreign powers.

“The exhibition also inspires us to continue to innovate for a better future,” Deng told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Organizers hired museum guides from across the country and also students from Peking University as volunteer guides.

A volunteer who requested anonymity told the Global Times on Tuesday that as a young student, she was touched by the exhibition and felt encouraged to study harder to help realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

(In Association with Global Times)