"Soong Ching Ling Everlasting Love to Her Homeland -- Cultural Relic and Historical Photograph Exhibition" is to be held next week in Hong Kong, according to the Education and Manpower Bureau (EMB) of Hong Kong.

To mark the 55th anniversary of the establishment of the People's Republic of China (PRC), the EMB has organized the "Celebration activities for National Day 2004" to promote national education and a sense of national identity among students, the exhibition will be one of them.

The Bureau's Chief Curriculum Officer, Cheung Wing-hung, said that the exhibition featured Soong Ching Ling's life as part of modern Chinese history with the display of more than 300 precious historical pictures and cultural relics.

Madam Soong, the wife of Sun Yat-sen, was the honorary Chairperson of PRC and was once revered by late Premier Zhou Enlai. "We hope that the exhibition can help young people in Hong Kong further understand the modern Chinese history and strengthen their sense of national identity," Cheung said.

Co-organized by the EMB and The Soong Ching Ling Foundation, the exhibition will be open to teachers and students, as well as members of the public, between Oct. 5 and Oct. 10 at the exhibition gallery of Hong Kong Central Library.

In addition, the "Peace and Development: Exhibition on China's Achievements in Foreign Affairs in 55 Years" is also being held until Nov. 17.

The display of some 300 pictures on the country's major foreign affairs history, including the return of Hong Kong and Macao to the motherland, is aimed to raise the awareness of national identity among students and reinforce their sense of belonging to the country.