Tan Longwu was born and raised in Jiangxi province's rugged Jinggangshan area. Tan and his family lived for decades steeped in Communist Party lore and history. They cherished plates of Mao Zedong's favourite braised pork, made especially fatty in these parts, and an 83-year-old neighbour even claims to recall seeing the youthful Mao at work. The area is rich with stories and Tan and his family regarded their proximity to one of Mao's many 'old homes' as a harbinger of great fortune.
Now consider Tan's good luck. Thanks to China's fast-forward push towards development and away from finicky revisions of history, the Tans have found themselves with an unprecedented opportunity. Collectively, craftily, Tan, his family and his neighbours have begun cashing in on a major new drive sweeping China: red tourism.
The Tan General Store, situated just 50 metres from Mao's second home along the Jinggangshan Trail, sells a curious mixture of dried fruit, beer, sewing supplies, cooking oil, fuel, Mao trinkets and revolutionary paperweights. 'Whatever the traveller needs,' Tan explains casually.
Tan and the mainland government are both expecting a great influx of visitors. Last year, China embarked on the Year of Red Tourism, trumpeted with a full marketing campaign that will last until 2010. Mainland authorities are working hard to drum up enthusiasm for some of the country's most remote yet revolution-imbued areas. For the party, it's a win-win chance to foster economic development in some of China's poorest regions while boosting its ideological zeal and political lore. For Tan, it's a business opportunity too good to pass up.
'Tourism is our primary source of income now, with hundreds of thousands of people visiting this site in recent months,' he explains. 'And that is up from tens of thousands a few years ago.'
China's red-tourism figures are testament to the ambitions of the programme. According to Xinhua, the state news agency, 700 million yuan was allocated last year alone to support the campaign, which aims to highlight key sites in the Communist Party's history until the establishment of the People's Republic in 1949.