Twenty foreigners in Shanghai, including company officials, experts, artists and entrepreneurs from 15 countries, visited the Memorial of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China yesterday.

The expats were interviewed for the popular video series “Shanghai Through Our Eyes.”

They visited a major exhibition about the origins of the Party at the memorial as well as a newly unveiled exhibition about then Premier Zhou Enlai at the former site of the congress.

They later shared their stories in and about the city after the guided tour, which effectively marked the first session of a planned storytelling club for local expats.

“The expats are encouraged to take part in the club, share their experiences and stories about Shanghai and China,” an official with the publicity department of Shanghai told a forum, attended by the expats, at Xintiandi.

The memorial in Huangpu District where the Party was founded in July 1921 includes the former site of the congress on Xingye Road and a new exhibition hall opposite Huangpi Road S.

The memorial features Shanghai’s unique architectural structure in accord with the buildings in the surrounding Xintiandi area.

The main exhibition space covers 3,700 square meters, quadrupling the previous exhibition space.

The exhibition features 1,168 exhibits about the birth of the Party and the revolutionary practices in Shanghai, including 612 cultural relics along with photos, videos, oil paintings, sculptures and multimedia works.

“I was impressed by the original aspiration of the CPC, the very clear mission and purpose for the better life of Chinese people as well as the Party’s capability to adopt and reinvent ideas,” said Kamran Vossoughi, president and chief executive officer of Michelin China.

“This memorial and exhibition helped me better understand why the 100 years of successful journey happened,” he added.

Vossoughi from France has been living in Shanghai for over two years. He said the expats’ club proposed by the city is essential, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic when mobility has been restricted.

“Personally I have good experiences to share about the Hongqiao Friendship Alliance with the help of Changning District,” said Vossoughi, who is chairman of the alliance.

Astrid Poghosyan, an Armenian violinist in the 140-year history of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, said she was mostly impressed by an immersive movie restoring the historic scene of the First National Congress of the CPC in 1921.

“We should be grateful to the past and keep working hard for the future,” said Poghosyan, who came to study at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in 2009.

“People in Europe may have to fly to London or Vienna to listen to a classic concert, but in Shanghai, we only need to take cab,” she noted.

Russian Oksana Krupikova, founder of the Bodylab Dance Center and head coach of rhythmic gymnastics, took many photos and videos of exhibits to share with her grandfather, a 94-year-old senior Communist Party member.

“I was inspired by the stories told by my grandfather who encouraged me to go to China.”