The first Merit Certificate Museum in China opened to the public on Tuesday in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province.

The museum, owned by Zhongce Vocational Senior School in Hangzhou, exhibits 179 pieces of merit certificates spanning from 1947 to 90s, including the Advanced Producer Certificate issued by factories, Tri-Merit Student in schools and even Five-Merit Soldier in military.

The collection was donated by 22-year-old graduate of the school Jiang Zhaoyue, who sits as the president of Zhejiang Civil Collection Society. "Behind these certificates are inspiring individual stories and historical significance. For merit certificates of many renowned people in China are issued from schools, I think the school should be the best place to preserve these historical objects," he explained the reason why he donated them to his school.

The headmaster of the school, Gao Zhigang, said every piece of certificate is printed with the historical features of old times.

The oldest certificate dates back to 1947, giving commendation to a person who became literate after finishing training classes.