A museum showcasing the personal belongings of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, forerunner of China's democratic revolution, opened to visitors in Shanghai on Sunday.

With an exhibition space of over 700 square meters, the museum houses more than 300 items left by Dr. Sun, including historic documents, manuscripts, and a sabre used by Sun.

Most of the exhibits are on show for the first time, said Sun Juanjuan, curator of the museum.

The museum building was part of the former European-styled residence of Dr. Sun in Shanghai.

Dr. Sun is known across the country as a "great revolutionary and statesman" who fought against feudalism and imperialist aggression and for the independence and freedom of the Chinese people.

He was born in 1866 in Xiangshan County (now Zhongshan City) in south China's Guangdong Province and died of illness in Beijing on March 12, 1925.

(Xinhua News Agency November 13, 2006)