On July 11, Xinhua Daily Media Group opened a renovated museum dedicated to the history of the newspaper, founded on January 11, 1938, and also unveiled statues in honor of key figures in founding of the newspaper.
Collectively called Role Models, the statues featuring Premier Zhou Enlai, Pan Zinian, Hua Gang, Xiong Jinding, Wu Kejian and He Yun.
The statues were created by artists led by Wu Weishan, curator of the National Art Museum of China and a member of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee.
The upgraded museum was expanded from less than 500 sqm to more than 1,800 sqm, and exhibits over 400 pieces of precious historical materials and cultural relics.
Visitors to the museum will be firstly greeted by a wall of 44 Xinhua Daily pages selected to represent the key moments from history. Then the exhibition highlighted two oil paintings that depicted Chairman Mao Zedong inscribing the newspaper’s masthead three times and Zhou reading the newspaper, respectively.
Mao was very focused on the development of Xinhua Daily and wrote the newspaper's masthead three times, in 1949, 1953 and 1964, with the third version being used to this day.
Zhou led the founding of Xinhua Daily and served as its chairman. He also penned 108 editorials, essays and other publications for the newspaper with about 240,000 words.
The exhibits include a rusty old printer from a printing museum in Qingdao City, the same type of machine used to publish Xinhua Daily in Wuhan and Chongqing.
A copy of On Protracted War, a work comprising a series of speeches by Mao, was one of 18 items donated by Wu Xianbin, curator of Nanjing Civilian Museum of the War of the Chinese People’s Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. The copy was printed by Xinhua Daily in 1939, the earliest version of the book that can be found today.
(Photo/Wan Chengpeng & Shao Dan)
Also on display are valuable items donated by retired staff members and their relatives, including writing brush, binocular, camera, manuscripts and a first-prize certificate of the first China Journalism Award.
In addition, the museum is covered by a 5G network and features interactive programs. It uses 38 display screens and 1,500 pictures on 12 topics to introduce the latest progress in the multimedia era. With the VR headset, visitors can watch the animated comic "History of Xinhua Daily".
