Preface Hall

Preface Hall   Rising Wisdom
The three-dimensional red sculpt in the preface hall, named as “Rising Wisdom”, symbolizes Hsue-shen Tsien(Qian Xuesen)’s love for his home-country, devotion and wisdom. “Qian Xuesen’s Manuscripts” in 4,015 pages form an inverted triangle shape, just like a brisk mushroom cloud rising to the sky. This number symbolizes the 4015 days and nights from Qian’s returning to home-country in October 1955 to the success of “combination of missile and atomic bomb” test in 1996. This beautiful sculpture stretches 9.8m in height, representing the splendid 98 years of this great man. 

Sculpture   Head Portrait of Qian Xuesen
The Head Portrait of Qian Xuesen, located between preface hall and central rotunda, was created by Prof. Zhang Dedi from the Central Academy of Fine Arts. This sculpture is 3.6m in full height, with a copper-casting head portrait 1.5m high, and weighs about 200kg. Zhang Dedi is one of the first-generation sculptors in New China . In her early years, Zhang Dedi went to the Soviet Union for further sculpture study, and was best at portraying figure’s eye expressions. This Portrait of Qian Xuesen is equipped with a steadyand serene face, staring into the distance in a deep and penetrating way, as if thinking about the future of China’s aerospace industryand the cultivation of creative talents.