A major educational and training center for national defense, the largest in northwest China, was officially put into operation Friday in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The first trainees include leading officials from Xinjiang's regional committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the regional government, and the Xinjiang Military Area Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA).

The center, covering 130,000 square meters, is composed of a number of training facilities as well as an exhibition hall, which displays the history of the PLA and the peaceful liberation of Xinjiang in 1949.

It is also regarded as a new landmark building for Urumqi, which is aiming to become an economically powerful city and a major tourism destination, according to local officials.

(Xinhua News Agency August 2, 2003)