国内英语新闻:Movie shot, museums built for centennial celebration of Chinese Revolution

WUHAN, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- China is building museums and shooting a blockbuster movie in honor of the 1911 Revolution, whose centenary will be celebrated this year on both sides of the Strait.

Also known as the Xinhai Revolution, the uprising in 1911 was remembered for creating the Republic of China, the first republic in the Asian history.

Its spiritual leader, Sun Yat-sen, was also the founder of the Kuomintang (KMT).

The Republic of China, however, ended its rule after the KMT was defeated by the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) and retreated to Taiwan in 1949.

Both the Chinese mainland and Taiwan have promised a grand celebration of the revolution's 100-year anniversary, which will fall on October 10 this year.

On the mainland, an epic movie depicting the revolution will hit the screen in September to recall the event.

Named Xinhai Revolution, the movie stars over 70 leading Chinese actors and actresses, including Jackie Chan, Li Bingbing, and Winston Chao.

It is another blockbuster China has made to present landmark revolutions.

The previous film was Founding of a Republic, which hailed the 60th anniversary of the birth of the People's Republic of China in 2009.

Apart from encouraging people to attend the cinema, many Chinese cities are also arranging exhibitions featuring the revolution.

In the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the revolution began, a new museum, the 1911 Revolution Museum, will be opened on the eve of the centenary.

The city has also mounted a global search for lost materials and artifacts related to the revolution, said He Xiaoxu, the chief of Wuhan Bureau of Culture.

"The city government will assist in the work of gathering materials for the museum and fund the purchases," said He.

So far, the museum has received 40 pieces of artifacts retrieved by purchases and 70 by donations, including three from Taiwan.

The three artifacts, including one photograph and two calligraphies by revolutionary figures, were contributed by the leader of a Taiwan-based exchange promotion organization.

Yang Yi, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said the Chinese mainland supported a joint celebration of the anniversary with Taiwan.

"The commemoration of the revolution will help unite people across the Strait in achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation," said Yang.