"Tibet has been an inseparable part of China from ancient times, and it is the Chinese people's common wish to safeguard the unification of the country," said Zhang Chengzhou, a visitor to an exhibition on Tibet's democratic reform.

For those western anti-China forces in support of the secessionist activities of Tibetan separatists, they will get nowhere and are doomed to fail, said Zhang, in his 70s, who was very excited while writing down this remark on a notebook at an exhibition marking the 50th anniversary of the Democratic Reform in Tibet.

The exhibition, titled "Democratic Reform in the Tibet Autonomous Region," opened in the Cultural Palace of Nationalities in Beijing on Tuesday and runs until April 10. On display are more than 500 photos, 180 objects and documents, demonstrating the remarkable achievements Tibet has made over the last 50 years.

Learning about the exhibition via radio, Zhang and his wife were eager to visit it, but they came on the second day of the exhibition because they were too busy.

"I was very excited when I saw the pictures showing that March 28 was designated as the Serf Emancipation Day on January 19 this year. All people around China should know this is a historical turning point in the history of Tibet and history can not be distorted," said Cao Wei, Zhang's wife.

"We have been paying close attention to the development of Tibet since the 1950s. So we have had a good understanding of Tibet. Tibet has been developing really fast. The exhibition serves as a review of what we have known in the past decades. "

"It is under the leadership of the Communist Party of China that Tibet has made all these achievements today," added Zhang.

The couple asked all young people to visit the exhibition, which will help them have a better knowledge of Tibet's history.

Shang Guihua, 60, went to the exhibition together with her six-year-old grandson.

"Although he is too young to understand what has happened in Tibet, I still want him to know something about it. There was an exhibit on Tibet when I was just 10, I still remember how shocked I was to see pictures showing the skin of a serf was stripped off."

Talking about the differences between the current exhibition and the one held 50 years ago, Shang said the arrangements of exhibits in the exhibition hall are more reasonable, and the use of high-tech like computer and the interpretation of guides make the exhibition easier to understand.

Speaking of Dalai clique's secessionist activities, many visitors expressed their indignation and voiced their support for the unification of China.

"It is wrong for the Dalai clique to attempt to split Tibet from the motherland," said a visitor from Beijing. "What the clique has done would never win popular support," she added.

"From my understanding, there would have been no new Tibet without the Communist Party of China; Tibet would not have achieved its stability and prosperity without the People's Liberation Army. The Dalai clique is a reactionary double-dealer and the so-called 'Tibet Independence' is a dirty trick used western hostile forces," said another visitor.

(Xinhua News Agency February 26, 2009)