'Youth' exhibition celebrating CPC centenary a summer holiday hit
The interactive "Youth" exhibition, organized by Shanghai Daily to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China, came to a successful close earlier this month at Shanghai Library.
The exhibition, which vividly represented founding stories of the CPC through interactive multimedia, was so strongly welcomed by visitors that it was extended.
It attracted tens of thousands of visitors of different ages, professions and nationalities, with nearly 2,000 people leaving their appreciative messages in handwritten notes or videos during the two weeks.
A wall full of messages left by visitors is seen at the site of the exhibition.
Four important historical locations – the Site of the First National Congress of the CPC, the Former Residence of Mao Zedong (1893-1976), the Exhibition Center of the Communist Manifesto and the Former Editorial Office of La Jeunesse – were shown through stepping on four key words, namely "love," "faith," "enlightenment" and "commitment," in the time tunnel.
"In this 'Youth' exhibition, we digitally recorded some revolutionary relics using animation, sound and so on. We used interactive technology to represent devotion, wokeness and struggles," said Zhu Jiajian, the head of Shanghai Daily.
The former Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the China Association for Promoting Democracy, exhibition consultant and tenured professor at Shanghai University Deng Weizhi considers himself "a friend of the CPC."
Deng thought the exhibition showed a big world in a small space, and he "experienced a lot."
"This exhibition is vivid and dramatic. I felt immersed here," he said.
Also deeply impressed were expats from the US, the UK, Germany and Mexico who visited the exhibition.
Simon Mahony, a professor from the UK working at Beijing Normal University, was attracted by the graphics that broke the language and cultural barriers: "The particular statistic I found most fascinating was that 24.5 percent of members of the CPC are young."
Wolfgang Röhr, former counsul general of Germany in Shanghai and a senior research fellow at Tongji University's German Studies Center, watches the exhibition.
Wolfgang Röhr, former counsul general of Germany in Shanghai and a senior research fellow at Tongji University's German Studies Center, was really touched.
"It shows that young people who have taken the decision to change the world can do it through enlightenment, democratic processes and procedure and brought the country to where it is today. I think China can be proud of many things it has achieved so far," he told Shanghai Daily after his visit.
Visitors leaving messages on the wall or to camera after their visit were also highlights of the exhibition, providing a platform for people of different ages to speak out with great enthusiasm.
Young students generally believed that youth is the future, and they all have their own dreams. Elderly people looked back to their early days.
"I lived near the Site of the First National Congress of the CPC when I was young, from 1970 to 1984. It always encouraged me to learn more, like the young people 100 years ago," a visitor wrote.
A visitor leaves his message after watching the exhibition.
Of all the visitors, a deaf-mute couple was one of the most special. They came to Shanghai Library in the last few hours before closing. Although they could only enjoy the show visually, they were still touched.
Invited to leave a message to camera to share their perspectives of "youth," they responded in sign language: "Whether in the past, at present or in the future, young people have always been the pioneering force in achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation."
The "Youth" exhibition was really a big hit during this summertime.
As the Director of Shanghai Library (Institute of Science and Technical Information of Shanghai) Chen Chao said: "There was an opportunity for readers to participate. This special year, we've studied the CPC's history from the perspective of youth, and the results have been truly unique."
