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 show. The rest will be put in storage.
   
According to a local government official, the exhibits will shed more light on Mao the man, his experiences and the life he had.
   
Work began on Wednesday and 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 150 million yuan (about US$18.9 million) to build, will be open to visitors next year, the official said.
   
Mao, who was born in Shaoshan on December 26, 1893, spent much of his youth in Shaoshan. This is why Shaoshan is considered to be a "sacred place" by many Chinese.

Tomorrow marks the 30th death anniversary of Mao, who died on September 9, 1976.

(Xinhua News Agency September 8, 2006)