In the second hall, many relics of those old days were on exhibition. These relics included old-fashioned weapons and articles for daily life.
In the third hall, we saw an artificial scene consisting of wax images in real person's size, tables, benches, stones, trees etc., which re-appeared the scene of an important meeting 36 years ago.
In the fourth hall, we saw the panorama of a battle field in Huai Hai campaign, with the far scene featured by a grand arch oil painting, the near scene arranged with real stuffs such as cannons, guns, defence works, helmets etc., standing before the panorama, we were feeling as if we had ourselves placed on the smoking battle field.
In the fifth hall, we saw a ten-minute analogous movie which featured the battle of liberating Shijiazhuang.
In the sixth hall, we heard incessant beeps of telegraph all the time and, on the white walls, we saw full coverage of inscriptions of the original manuscripts of telegrams by such former leaders as Mao Zendong, Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi .... The walls were called "telegram wall". Those leaders commanded one campaign after another by sending telegrams from Xi Bai Po. Some people said we defeated the enemies by these telegrams.
In the next three halls, we witnessed the present conditions of modern Xi Bai Po. they showed how the communist party have always been concerned about the people of the old revolutionary area. They recorded every visit here of such important national leaders as president Hu Jintao, former president Jiang Zemin, premier Wen Jiabao, vice-president Zeng Qinghong etc.. President Hu Jintao, during his visit here, put forth such important instructions as communist party members should unswervingly stick to "two musts"(must keep alive the style of modesty and prudence and the style of plain living and struggle).
coming out of the Museum, we came to the Stone Inscription Garden. The garden was backed on a cypresses-covered slope, and looking down the front edge of the garden was the the Gang Nan reservoir. Air inside the garden was very fresh, several thrushes and magpies were twittering and chirping to welcome the guests. There was a long gallery running through the whole garden lengthwise, which accommodated the inscriptions. The inscriptions were made by copying on square stone boards the handwritings of those important figures and celebrities. The stone boards were beset in walls on both sides along the corridor. Visitors could feast their eyes on these on-stone-marked calligraphies of various styles. Chairman Mao's writing looked energetic with an air of generosity and ambition; premier Zhou's looked airy and lively, with all the characters leaning to the right in uniform, which in one respect reflected premier Zhou's smart mind and quickness in dealing with the oceans of daily affairs; others, some were vigorous and gritty, with every stroke as sharp as blade; some were round and smooth brimming with wisdom; some were simple but elegant....
Out of the garden, we took an engined boat on the reservoir heading for the third place. The scenary on water was very beautiful. The golden Autumn breeze was blowing over the water surface and turned it into ripples and ripples, which were glittering against the sun. How I'd like to jump into the seductive water to swim to my heart content, but I wasn't sure if I could cross the said 15km breadth. After more than ten minutes water way travel, we got to the destination. This place was a relatively big even ground, which was rarely found in such a mountainy region. The dwelling place of those former important leaders was a big yard circled by 2-metre-tall walls. In front of the entrance of the yard was a cement-ground park, where many vehicles were parked. Along the front wall of the yard, was a line of stands selling various trinkets such as souvenirs, talismans, calligraphy stuffs, metal wares and earthwares, locally-grown goods such as persimmon, walnut, date, pepper etc. were also on sales. The pepper's scent was extremely strong, which could be smelt from 5 metres away, really a choicest spice stuff!
There was one small court after another situated about the big yard, exuberant trees could still be seen everywhere despite the season. All the small courts were closed, with each one having a door open. These courts were linked from door to door with narrow brick pavements. Each small court had accommodated a former leader. The layouts inside the courts were similar, they were quadrangles. In the small court, house on the north side was the main part, which was divided into two rooms, one was used as the leader's office, the other as both living room and bed room. Furnitures in the rooms were very simple, in the office room you could see a clumsy desk, with an old-fashioned telephone, worn out books, a bamboo keg with a few pens in it, a mug placed on it; you could also see a chair, a tea-poy with a pair of sofa on both sides, sometimes you may see a box-like transistor radio, which might be the most luxury appliance at that time; in the multifuctional room, you could see a bed and a frame-supported basin were two necessary things. House on the west side was occupied by the leader's spouse; the east side was guard's room; the south side was storehouse. After the visit to these courts, we went through an air-raid-proof tunnel, which was dug through a cypresses-covered hill, and finally we came to a warehouse-like big house, which was marked with " The Convention House Of The Central Military Committee". Inside the convention house, if replaced the party flag with a blackboad, it was pretty like a class room, just imagine how harsh their working condition was at that time, and this place then could be seen as nowadyas Zhong Nan Hai( where nowadays country leaders live in Beijing, the capital city). We took a picture together here, with the old Zhong Nan Hai as our background, and with this we wound up our first leg visit.
Next time I will tell about my venture to the Tian Gui Mountain.
