At the house where Mao Zedong and 12 others met 100 years ago to found the Chinese Communist Party, President Xi Jinping recently led his politburo in reciting an oath to uphold principles and "sacrifice everything" for the party and the people.

The obscure Shanghai courtyard of 1921 is now a lavish memorial hall, a focal point as China celebrates the centenary on Thursday of the party that controls the world's most populous nation and second-biggest economy.