Coarse grain and a night in a cave don’t feature in most holiday brochures, but the remote town of Yan’an hopes to earn a fortune from “red tourists” eager to relive the tough experiences of China’s Communist pioneers.
Yan’an was a dusty but secure home to Mao Zedong from 1935 to 1947 and where he coined the motto “serve the people” and welded his party into a fighting force capable of winning the civil war. But since the troops left, its main industry has been reliving the past.
And with 2005 declared the year of Red Tourism – travels to sites where Communist heroes were born, lived or fought – the town government hopes to increase its earnings.
“Only if we understand history can we improve our future,” said Mayor Zhang Shenian as he detailed a $2.5-billion plan to improve Yan’an’s museums, air links and roads in order to lure fans of the revolution.
“We are one of China’s revolutionary bases … But we also live here and therefore we have to use it as an opportunity to develop the economy,” Zhang added.
Among the attractions the town offers are a three-star cave hotel, endless Mao memorabilia ranging from key-rings to life-size busts and communist snacks such as “coarse grain” to feed any pangs of nostalgia for tougher days.
Financially, the 3.9 million tourists they helped lure last year to the town, in the northern province of Shaanxi, could be a powerful tool for raising incomes that averaged only $765 a year in the region’s towns.
A Yan’an tour also sets an example to the party faithful by depicting its founders leading an austere, self-sacrificing existence – although a recent biography of Mao claims they also sanctioned opium production while based there to raise funds.
More: boston.com
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