CHINA DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Friday, May 14, 2021 | 17 LIFE SHANGHAI Venue highlights Memorial makeover Pictorial visualization Historical site opens in time for the Party’s centennial, Zhou Wenting reports in Shanghai. fter nearly half a year of renovations, the Memori- al for the Site of the Sec- First exhibited at the memori- ond National Congress of al in 2008, an old painting in the theA Communist Party of China in main hall features the 12 attend- Shanghai was reopened to the pub- ees of the congress. The paint- lic this month. The birthplace of the ing helps visitors visualize how CPC Constitution was reopened just the congress took place at the in time for the upcoming centenary time. of the Party’s founding in July. Painter Yu Xiaofu was once Located in downtown Jing’an dis- again invited to restore the paint- trict, the site is where the Second ing. Some young painters also National Congress of the CPC took joined Yu in its restoration, signify- place from July 16 to 23, 1922. The ing the passing on of the revolu- CPC Constitution marked the com- tionary spirit to the younger pletion of the Party’s founding. generations. The second national congress also marked the first time an anti-impe- Manuscript exhibit rialist and anti-feudal democratic This is the first time that a manu- revolutionary program was put for- script sketched by Wang Huiwu is ward. The public declaration of the being exhibited at the memorial. CPC Manifesto, the decision to join Wang was the wife of Li Da, one of the Comintern, and the “Long Live the attendees at the congress. The the Communist Party of China” slo- site of the congress was also where gan were also unveiled at the con- the couple resided. gress. That congress was attended by Publishing house just 12 members. Today, the Party has grown to become the world’s largest political party with more than 91 million members. Officials say that the facelift giv- en to the shikumen — a typical A group of primary school students visit the newly renovated memorial of the Second National Congress of the Communist Party of China in Shanghai house with a courtyard Shanghai. GAO ERQIANG / CHINA DAILY and black gates encased in stone frames — and upgrades to the exhibits were meant to showcase how the century-old Party is now in its best years. Visitors can now admire a 360- “The renovation over the past six Learning Party degree view of the People’s Pub- lishing House with VR months is intended to enrich visi- history and telling it tors’ experience and restore the technology. original look of this venue that has a to more people have Li Da was the founder of the special place in history,” says You been popular among People’s Publishing House, the Wei, Party branch secretary and CPC’s first publishing institution. deputy director of the memorial. many of us over the Changes to the format and some years.” Women’s school items of the exhibition hall are evi- dent following the renovation Yang Zenan, an instructor at the work. memorial In the oath-taking area, a Party flag has been added. Here, visitors site is also a chance to enhance our- who are Party members can pose for selves. Learning the Party’s history a photo with one of the many Party and telling it to more people have emblems affixed to the wall. been popular among many of us “Many Party branches come here over the years,” Yang says. for educational activities and some On the renovation of the building, would like to renew their oath to the You says the project strictly followed Party at such a historic venue,” You the guidelines of restoring cultural says. “A better atmosphere helps to relics to their original state. She create a more solemn feeling.” recalls the difficulties in restoring In the main hall, there is a wall eight gates and their related archi- showcasing the 12 attendees of the Visitors view exhibits at the site. ZHOU WENTING / CHINA DAILY tecture at Middle Yan’an Road. The 1922 congress. When looking at this restoration had to undergo 12 deli- This was the site of the first wall from afar, the background of cate procedures. school for civilian women estab- the photos appears white, but up researching the history of the New narian veterans of the New Fourth “I need to prepare for any queries Wu Gongbao, leader of the main- lished by the CPC. The school, close, it becomes transparent, Fourth Army visited the memorial. Army in Shanghai. that may be raised by visitors,” Li tenance team, says the workers had which started operations in Feb- allowing visitors to view the out- Many of them are the descendants In the letter, Xi underlined the says. “It’s not enough to simply to carefully peel off the multiple lay- ruary 1922, was aimed at cultivat- door area and the architecture of of soldiers from a unit led by the importance of telling more stories memorize the narration materials ers of other restoration works car- ing women into leaders. the shikumen. CPC during the War of Resistance about the CPC and its glorious tradi- provided by the memorial. I have to ried out over the past few decades Women attending the school The change in the degree of trans- Against Japanese Aggression (1931- tions to guide Party members, espe- think ahead.” from the building’s surface. were divided into two grades parency is made possible with elec- 45). cially those from the younger Yang Zenan, an instructor with “After three days of polishing the based on their literacy levels. tricity control. This special feature is Zhu Xiaorong, head of the generations, so as to remain true to the armed police team that Li works original brick layer, we painted the They took subjects like Chinese, meant to improve light flow in the branch, says the visit helped enrich the Party’s original aspirations. with, says that a deeper understand- wall with a whitewash that was cre- mathematics, English, physics, exhibition hall and help create an his understanding of Party history. Li Shijie is in his early 20s and is a ing of history helps people learn ated using a special process,” he and chemistry, and were also illusion that the 12 attendees are Zhu’s parents were members of the member of the armed police force in more about society’s value system says. taught Marxist-Leninist ideology. present in the room. New Fourth Army. Shanghai. He was chosen to be a and gain more confidence in the On Tuesday, more than 20 mem- In February, President Xi Jinping narrator at the memorial site about country’s present and future. Contact the writer at CHINA DAILY bers of a Shanghai society branch wrote a letter to more than 40 cente- half a year ago. “The opportunity to narrate at the [email protected] Remembering revolutionaries from once upon a time By ZHANG KUN in Shanghai national congress are on display. [email protected] Gao Shiming, head of the China Academy of Fine Arts, says that cre- Once Upon a Time in Fudeli, the ating this exhibition helped young first theater production to feature students and teachers better under- the Second National Congress of the stand the pioneering revolutionar- Communist Party of China, pre- ies. miered in Shanghai on April 23. Instead of presenting the narra- Commissioned by the culture and tive in chronological order, Mu tourism administration of Jing’an brought together 18 actors to district, the play was the opening present fragments of history, cover- show at Modern Drama Valley, an ing a wide variety of people, inci- annual theater festival hosted by the dents and locations through district. recitals, songs and live music per- The play is currently on a 10-city formances. tour of eastern China that will cover From 1921 to 1949, more than 3.8 cities including Nanjing, Hefei, million Communists died in China. Wuxi and Yantai. The production “When these words were shown will return to Shanghai and will run Theater production, Once Upon a Time in Fudeli, featuring the Second National Congress of the Communist Party of China, is on a 10-city on the big screen, many people in at Daning Theater from June 23 to tour of eastern China. ZHU CHAOHUI / FOR CHINA DAILY the audience had tears in their July 4. eyes,” writes Yu Liangxin in a Now known as No 3 in Lane 7 on review on Xinmin Evening News. the old Chengdu Road North in civilian women who eventually Moved by Wang’s story, famous Throughout the process of the Chen Duxiu, Li Da, Wang Huiwu “Such is the real power of nonfic- Shanghai’s Jing’an district, No 625 became the first female cadres of theater director Mu Sen went on to play’s production, Mu made sure and Mao Zedong. tion theater.” of Fudeli is the site where 12 CPC the CPC. produce a play about her. Wang was that all the text and dialogue used To re-create historical scenes, Jing’an district will create an members convened the second CPC Wang Huiwu, one of the founders also a key figure in the organization remained true to historical docu- the creative team from the China HD film projection of the play and national congress and formulated of the civilian women’s school, died of the Party’s first national congress mentation. The production focus- Academy of Fine Arts reproduced introduce a series of events and the Party’s constitution — the funda- in 1993.