CPC centennial celebrations fill coastal city in Shandong province

An exhibition celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China is underway in Qingdao.

With more than 1,000 photos and 300 sets of precious exhibits, the event displays a timeline of Party history. With the help of digital tools, it caters to the young generation.

From China's first gigantic aircraft carrier－the Liaoning－to the carrier-borne J-15 fighter, and from the fully automated Qingdao Port to the magnetic levitation train, eye-catching models are utilized as a significant tool to showcase Qingdao's industrial modernization and manufacturing capability.

It also provides diverse activities to tell the CPC's history. Pianists from Qingdao Concert Hall play Red songs that depict the revolutionary times and pay homage to the CPC. Tutors prepare short-time lectures. Their passion to reiterate the Party's spirits has also inspired visitors.

The themed exhibition, which will last until Aug 31, is open to Qingdao residents free of charge.

On June 29, Qingdao Grand Theater hosted the performance of a historical extravaganza－Always Follow the Party.

At night, the red flag sculptures on both sides of the opera hall were inlaid with eye-catching signs and slogans. The golden Party emblem was shining at the central position on the screen.

Following the Party history timeline, the performance combined musical drama, dance drama, sitcom, poetry recitation, opera and other art forms.

Making the most of artistic techniques, the program embodied Qingdao's effort to inherit the spirit of May Fourth Movement, an anti-imperialist campaign that stemmed from student demonstrations in Beijing on May 4, 1919 and swept through the country.

More than 1,200 people, including outstanding Party member representatives and residents from all walks of life, watched the performance.

At the end of the event, the entire audience stood up and sang Without the Communist Party of China, There Would Be No New China, concluding the performance to a climax with long-standing applause.

"Qingdao is one of the Chinese regions where the local Party organizations were founded at an early time, and it is also a place with revolutionary tradition and abundant Red resources," said Cong Peike, an official from Qingdao's communications department.

In 1923, Deng Enming and Wang Jinmei, participants in the first CPC National Congress and founders of Shandong's local Party organizations, began to publicize Marxism in the city and develop CPC members. In August that year, they founded the first CPC organization there.

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, Party organizations at all levels in Qingdao have taken the lead in the city to make contributions to revolutionary education, economic construction and reform, Cong said.

Those celebratory activities are in line with the requirements of the CPC Central Committee and the Shandong provincial Party committee, which is of great significance for the comprehensive construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics and building the city into an international metropolis, Cong added.

In addition to the artistic performances and themed exhibitions, other activities were also held in Qingdao to celebrate the Party's centennial.

While a grand ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of the CPC founding took place at Tian'anmen Square in Beijing on July 1, the Qingdao city government organized local residents to watch the event and encouraged them to learn from its spirit.

In accordance with the requirements of the CPC Central Committee and the Shandong provincial Party committee, the city administrations have made full preparations for recommending outstanding Party members, outstanding Party member workers and grassroots Party organizations.

The city's Party committee called for Party history education and encouraged local Party groups at all levels to carry on their missions.

In a campaign of "doing things for the public", the local administrations discovered the issues of the greatest concern after broad investigations. They then formulated the city's working plan, implemented 1,074 livelihood projects and issued 631 policies.

After July 1, several departments of the local government jointly held a theoretical seminar to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC and organized a forum for people from all walks of life in Qingdao to celebrate the event.

A group of high-quality literary works, publications and television series were also created during the period.

The book Party History Written for Young Readers recorded the touching stories about the Party and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

With a circulation of 1 million copies, it was funded by the National Publication Foundation and honored as a key publication by the Publicity Department of the CPC in 2020. Communication departments and media organizations at all levels in the city have set up special columns on media platforms and channels.

By using short videos, short animations, illustrations and posters, they produced a number of vivid and easy-to-spread media products. To date, more than 12,000 reports relevant to the theme have been published.