An initiative to share books about the history and the present of the Communist Party of China began its Shanghai tour at the city's Fudan University on Friday and will last through the end of May.

Thousands of books on Party history and development were brought to a reading club on the school campus to celebrate the upcoming centenary of the founding of the CPC in July under the initiative held by the Shanghai Century Publishing (Group) Co Ltd and Yongye Group among others.

Jiao Yang, Party secretary of Fudan University, said that such a platform will help guide Party members, teachers and students to fulfill self-enrichment through in-depth reading, improve their moral standards and bring more vitality to the school campus.

Zhang Wenhong, a celebrity doctor in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic from Shanghai who said that he always keeps a book or two in his bag to read during his spare time, was appointed as the book club chair for the first day. He recommended youths to read more about the history during the early phase after the CPC founding.

"Only after learning more about those old days could we understand that the Party's victory and growth was not something sudden. It was destined to win the support of the people and be the choice of history," said Zhang, who is also director of the department of infectious diseases of Huashan Hospital Affiliated with Fudan University.

"A better understanding of the past can also help young people put their future personal development in a bigger picture in terms of time frame and the county's blueprint," he said.