China opened the Mao Zedong Square to visitors Thursday in his hometown of central Hunan Province to mark the 115th birth anniversary of the country's late revolutionary founder.

The square lies beside Mao's birth place, the Shaoshan Village, about 104 kilometers from the provincial capital of Changsha. Covering 102,800 square meters, it highlights a 10.1-meter-tall bronze statue of the great man, commonly known as Chairman Mao.

Photo taken on December 15, 2008 shows the  10.1-meter-tall bronze statue of the great man, commonly known as Chairman Mao.

"The completion of construction on the square is a generous gift of the whole nation for the 115th birth anniversary of Chairman Mao. It also expresses the eternal reverence, admiration and remembrance of the Hunan people for Chairman Mao," said Zhang Chunxian, secretary of the Hunan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, at the inauguration ceremony.

The Mao Zedong Square is an expansion and renovation of the former Square of Comrade Mao Zedong's Bronze Statue. Construction on the new, larger square was started on July 3 this year at a cost of 66 million yuan (US$9.7 million). Now, the square also includes Mao's former residence, a memorial, a library, a school and other historic sites.

Chairman Mao was born on Dec. 26, 1893 and died on Sept. 9, 1976.

Every year, millions of people from home and overseas visit the Shaoshan Village.

(Xinhua News Agency December 26, 2008)