Coubertin's manuscript on show

Chinese Vice-Premier Liu Yandong (front R) and President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach (front C)visit the Nanjing Olympic Museum after the opening ceremony in Nanjing, Aug 17, 2014. [Photo/Xinhua]

Visitors to Nanjing's Olympic Museum can expect to see an original manuscript by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the father of the modern Olympics.

The museum, which occupies an area of 7,896 square meters, is located in the basement of the YOG Cultural Sports Park, to the north of the Olympic village.

The first thing that draws a visitor's attention is Coubertin's yellowing manuscript, of about 100 pages, in which the Frenchman reflected on the history of sports.

Visitors also can take pictures with wax figures of Thomas Bach and Jacques Rogge, the current and the former presidents of the International Olympic Committee.

"Most of the 600 objects and 400 pictures exhibited are donated to the museum and provided by other Olympic museums," said Jiang Qiaoling, deputy chief of Nanjing's Jianye district, where the Olympic museum is located. "The museum will be operated by professional organizations after the YOG."

At the museum, people can also view a wall on which many Olympic torches are displayed, from the 1936 Berlin Olympics to the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games.

According to the museum, none of the torches are replicas.

The earliest, from the Berlin event, is also the smallest. The biggest is the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics torch, which is about one meter long and is made of metal and wood.

The park will be open to the public after the closing ceremony of the YOG. It will be free during the first six months of operation, then visitors under the age of 18 will still be able to visit without charge while adults will be charged about 30 yuan ($4.88).

cangwei@chinadaily.com.cn