Building 30, Yard 84, Beishan Street, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, is a stone's throw away from West Lake. This is the former site of the first constitutional grassland in New China, and it is also the current May 4th Constitution Historical Materials Exhibition Hall (hereinafter referred to as the "May 4th Constitution Exhibition Hall") Beishan Street Hall area.

In the museum, a copy of the "Draft the People's Republic of China Constitution (Preliminary Draft)" issued in March 1954 is quietly on display. It is it that has witnessed the extraordinary process of the Chinese Communist Party leading the people to formulate the first constitution of New China.

　　New China must have a great law

On the evening of December 24, 1953, a special train carrying Mao Zedong and members of the constitution drafting team quietly drove out of Beijing Station. On this train to Hangzhou, Mao Zedong said to his entourage, "To govern the country, there must be a great law. We went to Hangzhou this time in order to concentrate on the great event of building a peaceful nation."

From then on to March 1954, Mao Zedong led the members of the constitution drafting group to work secretly on the West Lake for 77 days and nights, and completed the first draft of the first constitution draft of New China, known as the "West Lake Draft" in history ".

The fundamental guiding principle set by Mao Zedong for drafting the constitution is: "take facts as the basis, not make up out of thin air." During the drafting of the "West Lake Draft", his office desk and cabinet were filled with various books and materials, including the translations of the constitutions of socialist countries such as the Soviet Union, as well as the constitutions of some capitalist countries. He personally participated in the discussion, repeatedly studied and demonstrated the draft, and many of the provisions were revised and determined by him. He was also inspired by the 1918 Soviet Constitution and decided to write a preface to the general outline of the constitution. The form of "preamble" is a feature of the the People's Republic of China Constitution and has been maintained up to now.

At that time, the drafting environment of the "West Lake Draft" was confidential, and all kinds of documents and materials formed in the process were also confidential. The formation department of these confidential documents or internal materials has strictly implemented a series of confidentiality measures to ensure the safety of relevant information and the smooth progress of drafting work.

At the beginning of March 1954, after several readings and reforms, the drafting team produced the "four readings" and completed the first stage of the drafting of the constitution. At the same time, Mao Zedong revised and approved the "Explanation of the First Draft of the Constitution", and on March 17 Depart for Beijing.

　　There is a memorial hall on the shore of the West Lake

After returning to Beijing, Mao Zedong presided over the first meeting of the Constitution Drafting Committee on March 23 and proposed the first draft of the constitution on behalf of the CPC Central Committee. On September 20, the first session of the First National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China unanimously adopted the the People's Republic of China Constitution.

On December 4, 2016, in order to popularize the spirit of the Constitution and to commemorate the history of the foundation of constitution making by the West Lake, the May 4th Constitution Exhibition Hall was completed and opened on the third National Constitution Day, becoming the first constitutional memorial venue in the country.

Every day, the May Fourth Constitution Exhibition Hall receives a large number of citizens and tourists. In the exhibition hall, in addition to displaying a large number of text and video files, there are many physical displays. The conference tables, desks, bookcases and Mao Zedong's bedroom have been preserved to the maximum extent.

Before stopping to take photos and reading Mao Zedong's manuscript, we can deeply understand the scientific legislation, the spirit of democratic legislation, and the profound impact of the rule of law on economic development, social progress and people's lives.

　　"Hangzhou Experience" of File Decryption"

In 2019, in order to further excavate and display the historical archives of the May 4th Constitution, under the leadership of the Security Committee of the Hangzhou Municipal CPC Committee, the Hangzhou Secret Bureau and the Archives Bureau took the lead in launching the special declassification of the May 4th Constitution historical archives, providing valuable practical experience for the declassification of historical archives.

They retrieve all relevant historical data from the archival database and analyze them one by one. From the perspective of security work, the 525 historical materials were sorted out one by one, and the document title, document number, security classification, security period, scope of document issuance, document issuance unit, number of pages, type of security classification, suggested centralized unit, suggested centralized level and other items were clearly defined. Finally, 543 pieces and 4816 pages of relevant historical materials were collected and determined, and a collection of classified catalogues and printed historical materials was formed.

In the end, a total of 195 historical archives were specially declassified and opened for appraisal, and handed over to the May 4th Constitution Exhibition Hall for opening to the public, telling people the past in the process of drafting and formulating the constitution.

History is the best textbook. The completion of the May Fourth Constitution Exhibition Hall and the special declassification of historical archives have deeply integrated Hangzhou, a thousand-year-old city, into the process of the comprehensive rule of law strategy in the new era. In the future, it will continue to lead people to establish the awareness of the rule of law and inherit the spirit of the rule of law.