AT first sight, Li Leiming can always be seen wearing a Chairman Mao badge on his shirt. Actually he has been doing so for over 12 years.

　　A public servant in the Futian District Government, Li now holds a collection of over 10,000 Chairman Mao badges. His personal exhibition of Chairman Mao badges wrapped up only a week ago in Shenzhen. Thousands of people visited his exhibition and the exhibition period, which was planned to last two weeks, was extended to a month.

　　Li's interest in Chairman Mao badges has much to do with his life experience.

　　On July 1, 1956, which coincided with the 35th anniversary of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Li was born into a teachers' family in Xinfeng County, Guangdong. Though now retired, his Hakka parents were teachers for over 40 years. Their spirit of sacrifice, hard-working nature and integrity had significant influence upon Li's development.

　　In 1966, when he was 10 years old, the "cultural revolution" broke out. Like many young people of his generation, Li grew up "in the sunshine, rain and dew of Mao Zedong Thought." Heroes such as Lei Feng, Liu Hulan and Huang Jiguang were the model figures he worshipped at that time.

　　In 1973, in order to answer Mao's calling, like many urban youth of his day, Li went to the mountainous countryside in the north of Guangdong to receive reeducation from peasants. Three years' harsh life in the faraway intellectual youth farm exercised Li's will to face up to everything, good or bad, in his life.

　　The year 1986 saw a big change in the 30-year-old Li's life when he joined the CPC after working as a primary school teacher for two years in Shenzhen. He had been applying to the Party for over 10 years, but had been refused again and again because of his father's persecution in the "cultural revolution."

　　In 1988, he became a worker for Party affairs in Luohu District. But at this time, he began to feel puzzled by what he saw as a social phenomenon.

　　With the economic reforms, many people in the city were getting wealthy. However, pursuit of money was becoming the ultimate goal of many people, especially the youth. Fewer people advocated the traditional virtues of sacrifice, hard work and honesty, and they felt spiritually empty as a result.

　　Li began to seek for something more spiritual. One day, when shopping in the Dongmen business area, he saw someone selling Chairman Mao badges on the street. They immediately caught his attention, bringing him back to the old days. He found his spiritual ballast in those badges, because he believed the badges, having witnessed contemporary Chinese history, would have eternal values and the Mao Zedong Thought that the badges embodied would never be out of date.

　　Thus, he began collecting Chairman Mao badges. For him, those badges are not only historical relics, but also precious works of art.

　　"Although there appeared some small quantities of Mao badges in the 1940s, the highest peak for large-scale production came during the three years between 1966-69. There used to be around 30 billion of Mao badges, but most of them don't exist any more," said Li.

　　"Most of the badges were spontaneously created by common people out of a natural love and respect for the late Chinese leader. At that time whoever created the best and most beautiful badges was regarded as having the deepest and most faithful love for Chairman Mao," Li said.

　　So far, Li's collection of more than 10,000 Chairman Mao badges covers over 1, 000 varieties.

　　On the morning of July 12, Li Na, daughter Mao Zedong, went to the exhibition of Li's badges at the Shenzhen Futian District Government Building.

　　Standing at the exhibition's beginning part, "Sun Rising from Shaoshan," Li Na, her eyes filled with tears, couldn't say anything. She held back her feelings, listening and watching carefully until she came to the part of the exhibition that focused on Mao's death. Then tears rolled down her cheeks.

　　When she finished her tour, she shook hands with Li Leiming and kept on saying: "Thank you for your not forgetting Mao Zedong. The exhibition is really well done!"

　　That was the best reward Li could have received for his lifetime collection.