The fifth part is devoted to the development of China's weaponry. It shows the assorted weapons that were on display at the military parade to celebrate the founding of the People's Republic, most of which had been seized from enemies. Shortly after, China started to develop its own national defense industry while also importing large amounts of equipment from the Soviet Union. In 1956, China unveiled its first jet fighter. It successfully tested its first atomic bomb in 1964 and hydrogen bomb in 1967.

With the rapid development of information technology, the PLA speeded up its modernization with an increased focus on mechanization and the application of the information technology. The PLA has announced that it will reach the goal of building "informationized" armed forces and be capable of winning "information-based" wars by the mid-21st century.

Pioneering achievements in space technology are also showcased. On October 15, 2003, China launched its first manned spacecraft, Shenzhou 5. Two years later, it launched Shenzhou 6, which carried a crew of two astronauts for five days in a low Earth orbit.

The PLA has made remarkable contributions to China's development. As the sixth part of the exhibition shows, large numbers of troops became builders of a new China after the founding of the People's Republic. They were assigned jobs of developing agriculture in the wilderness in the frontiers, building highways, railways and major water projects in remote areas and working at oil fields. The PLA is always at the ready to take part in disaster relief. After the catastrophic earthquake in Tangshan in 1976, 100,000 service people came to the rescue. In 1998, 300,000 were mobilized to help tame the severe floods that ravaged regions along the Yangtze and other major rivers in China.

The last part shows the Chinese military's participation in international cooperation missions and contributions to world peace. The PLA has established military-to-military relations with more than 150 countries and has sent military attachés to 109 countries. It has also helped train tens of thousands of military personnel for over 100 countries.

A heroic history

The PLA was founded on August 1, 1927 during the Nanchang Uprising when troops of the Kuomintang, then the ruling party of China, rebelled under the leadership of Zhu De and Zhou Enlai shortly after the end of the first Kuomintang-CPC alliance. They were then known as the Chinese Red Army. The Red Army managed to withstand four large-scale offensives by the Kuomintang troops. In 1934, the Kuomintang launched a fifth round of attacks and captured the Red Army's revolutionary base. As a result, it started a "strategic retreat," known as the Long March.

During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression from 1937 to 1945, the Communist military forces were integrated into the National Revolutionary Army led by the Kuomintang, forming the Eighth Route Army in the north and the New Fourth Army in the south. With millet and rifles as their basic equipment, the two military units used primarily guerrilla tactics but also managed to fight a number of conventional battles against the Japanese.

Following the victory over Japan in 1945, the Kuomintang-CPC collaboration collapsed and the two armies were once again embroiled in civil war. Armed with more advanced weapons imported from the United States, the Kuomintang troops were superior to the Communist army-which now fought under a new name, the PLA-in every aspect from weaponry and manpower to logistics. Despite these disadvantages, the PLA overwhelmed the Kuomintang troops in just a few years. Its sweeping victory led to the founding of the People's Republic of China in October 1949.

Curator Guo pointed out several new features of the exhibition. It showcases fresh achievements, contemporary role models, never-before-seen exhibits and cutting-edge military equipment by adopting hi-tech devices, he said.

At the same time, he noted that special programs were designed to involve visitors interactively. For example, they not only can log onto the intranet of the PLA but also have an opportunity to simulate piloting warships and tanks at the exhibition.

PLA in Numbers More than 300,000 PLA service members-killed on duty in various military operations, nation building and disaster relief efforts in the past 58 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China 7,200 peacekeeping personnel-sent to 17 UN missions by the PLA since 1990 23-fold-increase of the food budget of PLA soldiers, which now stands at 11 yuan per person per day, since before the reform and opening up began in the late 1970s 81.7 percent-of army officers in PLA's combat troops have a college education 91 PLA scientists-holding fellowships with the prestigious Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering 431 championships-won by PLA athletes in international sports events