One of the museum's most striking exhibits is an Ilyushin Il-14, aircraft number 678, gifted to Zhou Enlai by the Soviet government. The propeller-driven transport plane sits in its own exhibition area, a physical reminder of the Cold War alliance that shaped China's first decade as a republic. Zhou flew aboard this aircraft during the era when Chinese diplomacy was conducted in Soviet-built machines, a period when the relationship between Moscow and Beijing was still warm enough for personal gifts between heads of state. The plane represents a world that no longer exists -- a time when Zhou shuttled between international conferences building the diplomatic framework for a nation most Western countries refused to recognize.

The museum's other major artifact is the "New Haimen," the vessel that carried Deng Yingchao's ashes to be scattered at sea in 1992. The ship occupies its own exhibition area, preserved as a memorial to a final wish that was both personal and political. Zhou Enlai's own ashes had been scattered years earlier, in accordance with his desire that no tomb or monument mark his passing -- a stance that stood in contrast to the mausoleums built for other revolutionary leaders. Deng Yingchao followed the same path, choosing dispersal over permanence, the sea over stone.

Between the aircraft and the ship, the museum's main exhibition halls tell the parallel stories of two lives intertwined with China's twentieth century. The first floor houses "People's Premier Zhou Enlai," tracing his journey from student activist in Tianjin to the urbane diplomat who charmed Nixon and Kissinger while managing the chaos of the Cultural Revolution behind the scenes. The third floor is dedicated to "Deng Yingchao, the Outstanding Representative of Chinese Women in the 20th Century," documenting a career that included leadership in women's rights, education reform, and decades of political service. A recreated West Flower Hall from Zhongnanhai in Beijing offers visitors a glimpse of the couple's working environment in the compound where China's leadership lived and governed.

The memorial occupies a position of unusual official significance. In November 2017, it received designation as a National Civilized Unit, and the following month the Ministry of Education selected it as one of the first national study and practice education bases for primary and middle school students. Over 140 personal artifacts recovered from Zhou and Deng are on display, lending an intimacy to what might otherwise feel like an exercise in state hagiography. The museum sits near Tianjin's Water Park, a green oasis in the sprawling city, placing the memorial in a landscape of quiet reflection rather than political spectacle.