After the Olympics draws to a close, you might want to follow in the footsteps of China's most famous leaders and head to Mao's birthplace in the city of Changsha, Hunan province. Foreign trade thrived here in the early 20th century but now western faces appear to be something of a novelty in this sprawling city of 5 million people. This was the site of Mao's first experiments in politics, and it is still possible to visit the former office of the Hunan Communist Party Committee guarded by an enormous statue of Mao in classic 'taxi hailing' pose. The office is now a small but hugely atmospheric museum housing Mao's living quarters, photos and historical items from the 1920s. Nearby Hunan Number 1 Teachers' Training School (below) is where Mao attended classes from 1913 to 1918 and returned as a teacher from 1920 to 1922. Self-guided tours take in Mao's office, the classroom and the open air, where he enjoyed taking cold baths and cultivated 'fortitude, courage and boldness', as the sign proclaims. The main attraction of Hunan is Shaoshan, two hours southwest of Changsha. Visitor numbers have declined since the peak of 3 million a year during the 60s, but the village is still a place of pilgrimage. The Hunanese countryside en route feels like a true taste of rural China - where slabs of meat hang for sale from carts and grubby children play by the roadside. The sense of anticipation becomes tangible as the bus approaches Mao's birthplace. Inside, having negotiated the respectful PLA guards, one can see the bedroom of Mao's parents and read that his father was a 'hard working, thrifty, smart and crackajack [sic] man'. There is as much laughter as reverence. After all, where else is it possible to buy a cigarette lighter that glows and plays The East is Red, or a set of key rings featuring all the big players of Chinese communism? Best of all is the chance to dress up for a photo as a Red Guard - complete with wooden firearm and a cardboard cut-out of the chairman. For some the visit to Shaoshan is simply a break from the routine of field or factory, though for many it is a chance to pay their respects to the father of modern China. The trip to Shaoshan is completed by a visit to the museum, built in 1967, that houses waxworks, film of hysterically weeping Red Guards, Mao's socks, cigarette holders and his enormous swimming trunks worn in those famous film images of him floating down the Yangtze in the 60s.