Chairman Mao square opened on his 115th birth anniversary

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-12-25 19:20

CHANGSHA -- China opened the Mao Zedong Square to visitors Thursday in his hometown of central Hunan Province to mark the 115th birth anniversary of the country's late revolutionary founder.

The summit of Red Revolution Tourism is held in Shaoshan, Mao Zedong's hometown, central Hunan Province Wednesday, December 24, 2008. China opened the Mao Zedong Square to visitors Thursday in Shaoshan to mark the 115th birth anniversary of the country's late revolutionary founder. [Xinhua]

The square lies beside Mao's birth place, the Shaoshan Village, about 104 kilometers from the provincial capital of Changsha. Covering 102,800 square meters, it highlights a 10.1-meter-tall bronze statue of the great man, commonly known as Chairman Mao.

"The completion of construction on the square is a generous gift of the whole nation for the 115th birth anniversary of Chairman Mao. It also expresses the eternal reverence, admiration and remembrance of the Hunan people for Chairman Mao," said Zhang Chunxian, secretary of the Hunan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, at the inauguration ceremony.

The Mao Zedong Square is an expansion and renovation of the former Square of Comrade Mao Zedong's Bronze Statue. Construction on the new, larger square was started on July 3 this year at a cost of 66 million yuan (9.7 million US dollars). Now, the square also includes Mao's former residence, a memorial, a library, a school and other historic sites.

Chairman Mao was born on December 26, 1893 and died on September 9, 1976.

Every year, millions of people from home and overseas visit the Shaoshan Village.