BEIJING, 30 June 2021, (TON): At the house where Mao Zedong and 12 others met 100 years ago to found the Chinese Communist Party, President Xi Jinping recently led his politburo in reciting an oath to uphold principles and sacrifice everything for the party and the people.

The obscure Shanghai courtyard of 1921 is now a lavish memorial hall, a focal point as China celebrates the centenary on Thursday of the party that controls the world’s most populous nation and second-biggest economy.

The site of that first party congress now chronicles China’s humiliation at the hands of warlords and imperialists, its awakening in the early 20th century and its revival after the party’s 1949 victory in a civil war that sent Chiang Kai-shek’s nationalists into exile in Taiwan.

The commemorations in what has become an upscale neighbourhood of boutiques and restaurants reflect something broader: a myth-making project to amplify China’s message at home and abroad, aligning with Xi’s call this month to tell more positive stories about China.