The exhibits in the 1911 Revolution Museum in Wuhan Photo: VCG

 An exhibition displaying donations related to the 1911 Revolution, which ended the rule of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), opened in Wuhan, the city where the revolution started, on Saturday.

The 1,224 donations from 51 collectors home and abroad and one Chinese social organization are on display at the 1911 Revolution Museum in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province, to commemorate the 109th anniversary of the revolution, according to a statement on the museum's official WeChat blog.

The first rebellion led by revoluntionary forerunner Dr. Sun Yatsen against the rule of the Qing Dynasty, the last dynasty in China's feudalist society, broke out in Wuhan in 1911, making the city a symbol of the revolution.

Despite the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, many collectors, especially those who do not live in China, have continued to donate items to support the exhibition.

Hu Wei, a director at the museum, told the Hubei Daily that the number of donations in 2020 has been much bigger than previous years. 

"We are very touched," he said.

From June to September, collectors from different regions including the US, Japan, Singapore, France and China had overcome many difficulties to donate various historical items to the museum. Even at the beginning of the outbreak, some collectors started contacting the museum to ask how to join in the donation drive in the special situation.

The exhibition includes documents, newspapers and clothing as well as stamps from that time. 

A piece of newspaper donated by a Chinese resident in France is one of the items on display at the exhibition. The newspaper contains a French report about a strike by members of the revolutionary party in North China's Tianjin who revolted in 1912 in response to the 1911 Revolution. A photo with the report shows that after the failure of a local uprising, the Qing regime  suppressed the revolutionary party but the members were fearless.

There is also on display a souvenir medal to commemorate the Eight-Power Allied Forces' War of Aggression against China issued by France at the end of the Qing Dynasty. The round badge of the medal bears the head of a French soldier. The medal reflects the aggressive acts against China by the imperialist powers in the early 20th century, the Hubei Daily reported.

A Wuhan resident surnamed Yuan who was visiting the 1911 Revolution Museum for the first time told the Global Times on Sunday that the exhibition was a great way to learn about the history from the end of the Qing Dynasty to the beginning of the Republic of China.

"What I learned in class in high school was almost forgotten, so this is a good opportunity to review history and remind myself not to forget those heroes."