Shaoshan in central China's Hunan Province, hometown of late Chinese leader Mao Zedong, is to host a five-year exhibition of 5,000 badges featuring Mao's image.

The collector of the badges is Wei Shengquan, who worked on Mao's memorial in Shaoshan in the late 1970s. Wei has collected over 30,000 badges bearing the image of Mao Zedong over the past 20 years.

The local government has built an exhibition hall near Mao's memorial, covering an area of 210 square meters, to display Mao's badges.

The badges were made over a period of 50 years from a variety of materials such as silver, bronze, aluminum, iron, china and jade. The exhibition is divided into 34 parts featuring four phases of Mao's revolutionary experiences.

Mao Zedong, born in a peasant farmer's family on December 26, 1893, was the founder and leader of the Communist Party of China and the People's Republic of China. He is remembered and revered by people in China and the world.

(Xinhua News Agency January 21, 2006)