Epic battle that freed a city
An exhibition highlighting the battle for the liberation of Shanghai 70 years ago opened on Friday at Shanghai Library.
With archives from the battle and rare pictures, the exhibition tells the story of the difficulties the People’s Liberation Army faced and the sacrifices it made to finally bring peace to the city. It also shows the development of Shanghai after 1949.
The more than 100 exhibits include the first Xinhua Weekly magazine published in 1949 with New Year greetings by Chairman Mao Zedong, and letters by those in the underground who gave their lives for the liberation of the city.
At the exhibition's opening ceremony, the son and nephew of Hu Wenjie, who died in the Yuepu battle to liberate Baoshan District, donated a briefcase Hu once used.
Hu was commander of the 259th regiment from the 29th army’s 87th division. He died on May 15, 1949, the fourth day of the city’s liberation battle. Shanghai was liberated on May 27.
Hu Jijun said his father died before he was born, and everything he knew about his father came from stories told by his mother.
The shabby briefcase, he said, was a reminder of how difficult it was for people then to have the peaceful and enriched lives they enjoy now.
Meanwhile, a photographic exhibition on the liberation battle is featured at the Metro's Xujiahui station.
More than 50 photos and 10 relics tell the stories of what happened in the battle from first shot to final victory. The photos form a 48-meter long scroll that breaks down the epic battle into everyday details.
Both exhibitions will run to the end of July.
The first issue of Xinhua Weekly magazine published in 1949 with articles written by Chairman Mao Zedong
The briefcase that Hu Wenjie once used
A visitor takes pictures of items on show at the Shanghai Library exhibition.
