China’s Communist Party pilgrims mark centenary in wave of Red tourism at historic sites
- The cradle of the Chinese revolution is drawing tourists and party faithful, boosted by 2021 party celebrations and China’s post-pandemic rebound
- Party leaders, historians and educators are pushing to reach young people, to boost their interest in modern Chinese history
On a street where the Red Army once roamed, a group of retirees in historic pastel-blue army uniforms belts out tunes made famous through countless films, television shows and other forms of propaganda.
Historic locations in Jiangxi and Guizhou provinces – the sites of revolutionary leader Mao Zedong’s early battles, his escape from Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist forces in the Long March and the cementing of his leadership in Zunyi – are experiencing an influx of tourists this year as post-pandemic travel returns to China.
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In Guizhou, tourism in the first quarter of 2021 had already recovered to 2019 levels, local official Lu Yongzheng said. The province, among China’s top tourist destinations, received millions of tourists who brought in billions of dollars in revenue.
On a recent government-organised tour, descendants of the Red Army told stories of their forefathers at the Zunyi Memorial Museum, which houses artefacts from the period and hologram recreations of a key meeting at which Mao established his dominance.
Kong Xia grew up listening to stories of hardship and toil and the arduous Long March, a military retreat in which her grandfather, Kong Xianquan, took part.