China's first theme museum, on the course of development of nuclear technology, will be set up in Mianyang City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, according to a China News Service report on Monday.

The museum, which is now under construction, is expected to open in April.

With a total investment of 250 million yuan (US$31 million), the museum will be divided into four big exhibition sections, namely nuclear technology, wind tunnel technology, computer science, and Changhong vision technology.

As the core of the museum, the nuclear technology section will be subdivided into five parts, namely "atom and nucleon", "tremendous nuclear power", "application of nuclear power", "peaceful utilization of nuclear technology", and "interactive demonstration programs". Each part focuses on popularizing nuclear knowledge and peaceful utilization of nuclear power and technology.

In addition, the exhibits will also showcase the people and touching stories behind the "two bombs and one satellite" program. The program describes the detonation of China's first atom bomb in 1964, which was followed by the successful launch of a missile in 1966 and explosion of a H-bomb in 1967. The launch of China's first satellite "Dong Fang Hong" in 1970 was a declaration to the world that China had mastered satellite technology.

The 30-meter-high entertainment wind tunnel with a diameter of 12 meters, the first of its kind, will enable three to five visitors to "fly" at the same time to experience space travel. Besides, China's first series of computers -- Yinhe I, Yinhe II and Digistar3 Theater -- will also be on display.

Mianyang City boasts many national-level science and technology institutes including the Chinese Academy of Engineering Physics, which conducted much of the research for the "two bombs one satellite" program, and China Aerodynamics Research and Development Center, counting many famous Chinese scientists including Deng Jiaxian, also known as the father of China's atom bomb, as previous in-house researchers.

(China.org.cn by Wang Qian, January 18, 2006)