China commemorates 120th birth anniv. of Mao Zedong

China is celebrating the 120th birth anniversary of its founding father Mao Zedong. A number of ceremonies are being held across the country to mark the occassion.

In Mao's hometown of Shaoshan in the southern province of Hunan, authorities on Tuesday offered flowers to the statue of Mao. Locals were joined by admirers from across the country at a memorial hall established to remember the leader. In the Jinggang Mountains, regarded as the birthplace of the Chinese revolution led by Mao Zedong, visitors tried to experience the tough life of Chinese Red Army soldiers.

Dressed in the uniforms of the Red Army, nearly a hundred people marched through a five-kilometer road that Mao and his troops walked decades ago. Meanwhile, symposiums remembering Mao Zedong have been held in Xibaipo in the northern province of Hebei. The village served as the Chinese Communist Party's headquarters in the late 1940s. In Yan'an, a key base of the Chinese Red Army, an art exhibition featuring the Chinese revolution has attracted many visitors. Born in 1893, Mao Zedong was the leader of the Chinese Communist Party, the People's Republic of China and the Chinese PLA. He served as Chairman of the PRC from 1949 till his death in 1976, and is regarded as one of the most influential and decisive figures in modern world history.