From September 21-30, 1949, the first plenary session of the new politicial consultative conference was held in Peking. The meeting decided to establish the Monument to the People's Heroes in Beijing. The picture shows at the ground-breaking ceremony, Zhou Enlai made a speech on behalf of the presidum of the conference.[Photo/Xinhua]

The picture shows at the ground-breaking ceremony, Mao Zedong and Zhu De laid a foundation stone for the monument.[Photo/Xinhua]

On the front of the monument there is an inscription in Mao Zedong's handwriting, which reads "Eternal glory to the people's heroes!" The picture shows the inscription in Mao's handwriting. [Photo/ Exhibition Road to Rejuvenation at the National Museum of China]