Exhibition marking 90th anniversary of PLA opens in Beijing

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By CGTN's Yang Ran

An exhibition marking the 90th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has opened at Beijing's Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution.

More than 1300 historical objects are on display, 500 of which are being shown to the public for the first time.

A model of China's carrier Liaoning on display. /CGTN Photo

An M1896 short tube mauser pistol which once belonged to Zhu De, the leader of the Nanchang Uprising, is one of the original items on display.

After the revolution, Zhu inscribed 10 characters on the gun to remember the campaign.

"The Nanchang Uprising marked the beginning of the CPC's independent leadership of military revolution. So this pistol is important proof of the incident. It is an important witness of the CPC's founding of the people's army. That's why we are displaying this gun," said Liu Zhonggang, Vice Director of the Displaying Research Department of the Military Museum.

Visitors touring the exhibition at Beijing's Military Museum. /CGTN Photo‍

Some personal belongings of PLA service personnel are also being shown.

One such item is a private seal which belonged to General Yang Jingyu who sacrificed his life in a siege during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

Another object of note is the order of founding the Field Army in Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Areas, which was issued on February 10th, 1947.

It was the first time that Zhu De issued an order as the PLA Commander in Chief along with Mao Zedong and Liu Shaoqi.

On that day, the PLA was officially named.

“This order represented a new mission for the PLA, that is, to drive the Japanese out of China and liberate the whole country," said Liu.

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