Photo: screenshot of a video posted by People's Daily

A cotton jacket that was torn into pieces in battle, an application letter to join the Communist Party of China (CPC), and a working diary are some of the belongings of Chinese martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the Galwan Valley border clash in 2020. They are on exhibition for the first time in the Chinese Military Museum in Beijing.

Belongings of martyrs were part of the exhibitions presented by the Chinese military in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC. The exhibition began on Friday. 

The cotton jacket that Chinese soldier Xiao Siyuan wore in the fight with Indian troops at the border was torn off, exposing the lining of its right sleeve. 

The exhibition also showcased the working diary of battalion commander Chen Hongjun who wrote down every one of the daily missions in the diary: the broken door need to be fixed, the sculpture need to be cleaned. Chen Hongjun was also one of the 29 awardees of the July 1 Medal, the highest honor in the CPC. 

Chinese soldier Chen Xiangrong had tried to write a letter to his mom twice but he did not have the chance to finish them. "Dear mom…" the only words on the letter being exhibited. 

The exhibition also displays the letter that martyr Wang Zhuoran wrote for his application to join the CPC. He had written at least five letters applying to become a member of the Party in his less than four years career in the military. 

During the China-India border clash last year, four martyrs including battalion commander Chen Hongjun and soldiers Xiao Siyuan, Wang Zhuoran and Chen Xiangrong sacrificed their lives to safeguard national sovereignty and territory. 

They were born in 1987, 1996, 1996, and 2001, respectively. Both Xiao Siyuan and Wang Zhuoran were 24 years old. Chen Xiangrong died at the age of 19.

The exhibition attracted a large number of visitors. Netizens commented that the exhibition helped them to know the heroic stories of martyrs better and vowed to inherit the spirits of heroes in their daily lives.

Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times on Sunday that as the exhibition comes at a time to celebrate the CPC's centennial, it inspires Chinese people to remember their heroes and be brave in fighting against an enemy. 

Chinese media the PLA Times, for the first time, unveiled details and casualties of Chinese frontier officers and soldiers in the Galwan Valley clash in February 2021. By revisiting the whole incident, it has shown the world that the responsibility lies on the Indian side as Indian media and some politicians had overstated the casualties since June 2020, some even saying that 45 Chinese soldiers died in the "free-style fight."

The exhibition recreated the glorious history of the People's Liberation Army created and led by the CPC with more than 1,580 relics, 800 photos as well as historical documents and short videos, according to the Xinhua News Agency.