An exhibition featuring more than 100 relics of the Revolution of 1911 is being held at the Shenzhen Museum until Friday.

The items were all selected from the more than 1,500 pieces from a Revolution of 1911 private collection owned by Wuhan-based Shen Hansheng.

The Revolution of 1911 was led by Sun Yat-sen, which overthrew the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the last feudal dynasty in China.

The 60-year-old Shen has collected objects from the revolution for more than 40 years since his father Shen Liangfu died in 1950 and left behind a large collection.

According to Shen, his father was once a close follower of Sun, which gave him access to many pieces.

Shen's collection has been appraised by experts from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.

According to experts, more than 50 items are unique, and more than 80 meet the first-class relic standard established by the State.

One highlight of the exhibition is Sun's walking sword -- the only one on the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.

According to Shen, when Sun's granddaughter, Sun Huifang saw the sword during an exhibition in Guangzhou last October she was amazed at its existence and examined it for quite a long time.

Shenzhen is the third host for the exhibition since Shen held the first one in Wuhan in 1999.

Shen expects to hold a similar exhibition in Taiwan in the near future.

(Shenzhen Daily February 24, 2004)