The Military Museum of the Chinese People’s Revolution stands on the north side of the central section of Fuxing Road directly south of the Yuyuantan Park. The museum is composed of two four-story wings and a main building of seven stories topped with the gilded emblem of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.
The museum occupies a total area of 60,000 square meters. After passing through the lobby, one comes to the central exhibition hall, which contains over 500-odd photographs and more than 1,000 mementos of the Chinese revolution led by Mao Zedong over the course of half a century.
On the eastern side of the main building, the three floors are taken up by specialized halls, the titles of which are in the calligraphy of Chen Yi, who penned them at the request of Zhou Enlai. The first floor is devoted to the Second Revolutionary Civil War (1927-1937), the second floor to the War of Resistance Against Japan (1937-1945) and the third floor to the Third Revolutionary Civil War (1945-1949). The exhibits in these three halls depict the 28 years from the founding of the Chinese Communist Party in 1921 to the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. They treat the organization of the Party and the army, the establishment of rural revolutionary bases andthe seizure of state power by the armed forces. Included in the more than 5,000 exhibits are an oil lamp used by Mao Zedong during the Jinggang Mountain struggle, and photographs showing Mao writing his essay “On Protracted War” and delivering his famous speech at the celebration of the founding of New China.
Also on display are photographs of Zhou Enlai, Zhu De and other veterans of the revolution along with a collection of their personal effects. Sections devoted to the People’s Liberation Army and the masses show theimportance of their participation in the revolutionary wars. There is also a special section devoted to noted revolutionary martyrs such as Norman Bethune and D. S. Kotnis. In the western wing, the first floor exhibition hall contains a general exhibition while the second and third floors house a display entitled “The Protection of Socialist Revolution and Construction.” The outdoor plazas on either side of the central hall exhibit representative weapons used by the People’ s Liberation Army and the weapons captured from the enemy during various periods of the revolutionary war.
