The exhibition features wax sculptures of students taking the national college entrance examination in 1977 after a 10-year gap during which the tests were not held. [Photo/Xinhua]

More than 200 role models from across China were invited to the exhibition.

Foreign diplomats, representatives of international organizations and nearly 200 journalists from domestic and foreign media also visited ahead of National Day on Oct 1.

Interactive displays are highlights.

On one screen, visitors can search for the weather in a person's birthplace in China. Another shows visitors' faces in astronauts' suits. In front of one screen next to wax sculptures portraying students taking the national college entrance examination in 1977, visitors can get their own admission tickets for the test.

One visitor, Yao Jiahong, took part in the exam in 1977 and was enrolled into college. He still remembers that he was working in the fields when the radio broadcast announced the news of the resumption of the national college entrance examination after a 10-year gap.

"It changed not only my own life but also our whole generation and even the whole country," he says.

The data shown at the exhibition clearly reflect the changes in people's daily lives-the average life expectancy was 35 years in 1949 and 77 in 2018.