Nearly 50 million people have visited the former residence of the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong (1893-1976) in his hometown of Hunan province, central China, since it was opened to public in 1950, said a survey on Thursday.

A total of 20,000 visitors came here on Thursday, also the 83rdanniversary of birth of the Communist Party of China (CPC), said Xie Xiguang, official with the management of the residence.

The place has turned out to be an outside classroom for patriotism education and most of the visitors are members of the CPC or the Communist Youth League of China, the official said.

On Thursday, the residence was full of crowds from all over the country.

Lu Fengshan, a 66 retired official in Daqing, northeast China, came by train to pay homage to the great man. "We want to give our devotion and respect to Chairman Mao on the birthday of the Party," he said.

Mao Zedong, born to a peasant farmer's family in the Shaoshan mountain of central-south China's Hunan province on Dec. 26, 1893,was one of the 12 founders of the CPC.

Chairman Mao Zedong has been remembered and revered by millions of people in China and elsewhere in the world as a great contemporary revolutionary as well as a great Chinese leader.

The survey indicates Mao's hometown received over one million visitors each year in the past decade and 60 percent of them were teenagers.