A 32-metre (105 feet) statue of late Chairman Mao Zedong in his youth is seen under construction in Changsha, central China’s Hunan Province on November 3, 2009. China recently marked the 115th anniversary of the birth of revolutionary Mao Zedong, commemorating the "Great Helmsman", who founded the People’s Republic in 1949 and served as China’s leader until his death in 1976. At the same time construction of a museum that will showcase personal possessions of the late Chairman Mao Zedong and other related relics has begun in his hometown of Shaoshan in central China’s Hunan Province.
Occupying an area of more than five hectares, the museum will house some 6,500 of Mao’s personal items, including official documents, poems, stationery and even his old washbasin. But only 700 exhibits, 500 of which are being displayed for the first time, will be on display. The rest will be put in storage.
It is scheduled to be completed before the end of December to mark the 113th anniversary of the birth of Mao.
The museum, estimated to cost RMB150 million (about $18.9 million) to build, will be open to visitors next year. World Hum and China.org.cn report that Mao, who was born in Shaoshan, spent much of his youth in Shaoshan.