Government officials should prepare for Mao Zedong's 120th birth anniversary this year in line with President Xi Jinping's directions that the celebration should be "solemn, simple and pragmatic," Xu Shousheng, Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Hunan Committee, said on Wednesday.

"We need to carefully prepare for Mao Zedong's 120th anniversary, and further boost people's confidence in the institution, the theory and the path," Xu told government officials at a meeting in Changsha, capital of Central China's Hunan Province, which is also Mao's home province. 

"We need to earnestly implement President Xi Jinping's instructions, which were that the ceremony needs to be solemn, simple, and pragmatic," Xu added.

In Shaoshan, Mao's hometown, authorities have spent nearly 2 billion yuan ($327 million) on 12 projects to commemorate his anniversary, Xiangtan Daily, a local newspaper, reported.

Xi had told a conference in August that ideological work is extremely important and that Party members should strive to study Marxism and Mao's thought along with theories from previous CPC leaders.

Xi took an inspection tour of Hunan Province between November 3 and 5. He made several important speeches during the tour.