Red tourism

Red tourism (Chinese: 红色旅游; pinyin: Hóngsè lǚyóu)[1] is a subset of tourism in the People's Republic of China in which Chinese people visit locations with historical significance to Chinese Communism "to rekindle their long-lost sense of class struggle and proletarian principles."[2] The Government began actively supporting red tourism in 2005[3] to promote the "national ethos" and socioeconomic development in those areas,[4] which are typically rural and poorer than East China. In July 2010, officials representing 13 Chinese cities signed a "China Red Tourism Cities Strategic Cooperation Yan'an Declaration" to develop red tourism;[5] the cities are: Guang'an, Yan'an, Xiangtan, Jinggangshan, Ruijin, Zunyi, Baise, Shijiazhuang, Linyi, Anyang, Yulin, Qingyang, and Huining.[5] A Chinese official said "This is a major project that benefits both the Party, the nation and the people, either in the economic, cultural and the political sense."[6]

Tourists in Yan'an can rent and dress in Chinese Red Army garb
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Locations
  • Gutian, site of the Gutian Congress, where Mao Zedong stamped out "ultra-democracy" (voting among Red Army members). The resolution in the conference stipulated the basic principles for building the Party and the army.[7]
  • Yan'an,[8] near the endpoint of the Long March, and thus became the center of the Chinese communist revolution from 1936 to 1948. Chinese communists celebrate Yan'an as the birthplace of the revolution. Tourists can participate in daily mock battles portraying “The Defense of Yan’an” against Chinese Nationalist Army forces.[2]
  • Jinggangshan,[9] the cradle of the Chinese Communist revolution,[10] where Mao Zedong and other leading members of the Communist Party of China established the first rural base for the revolution in 1927.[10]
  • Zunyi,[11] the site of the Zunyi Conference
  • Japanese Germ Warfare Experimental Base in Harbin[3]
  • Xifeng Concentration Camp[3]
  • Shaoshan, the birthplace of Mao Zedong [3]
  • Hainan Island[12]
  • Nanjie, Henan province: Small village where its local residents still live under Maoist ideas and live according to commune principles.
  • Shanghai: Site of the 1921 Communist meeting.
  • Nanchang, Jiangxi Province: Site of the BaYi Uprising (August 1, 1927).
  • Chongqing: Communist sites from WWII.
  • Ruijin, Jiangxi Province: Headquarters of the Communist Party in the early 1930s.
  • Tingzhou, Fujian, where leaders of the Communist Party such as Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai took refuge during the early years of the civil war.[13]

Outside China

Other former Communist countries can have red tourism, such as the Czech Republic, previously part of Czechoslovakia and ruled by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.[14] Recently Russian researchers started to focus on the studying of the trend of Russian-Chinese tourism’ development. [15]

Events

The China Red Tourism and Cultural Festival is held annually in Hunan. The 2010 Festival took place in July and took advantage of high-speed rail in China.

Criticism

Aging original members of the Red Army criticise the "Disneyfication" of what should be solemn war memorials.[3]

References
  1. Zhou, Qiong (2010-07-07). "National Symposium on Red Tourism Kicks off in Xiangtan University". Hunan Government. Archived from the original on 2011-07-21.
  2. Wong, Edward (December 30, 2010). "Revolution Isn't a Party, but It Draws Tourists". New York Times.
  3. Boyle, Joe (14 May 2008). "China's 'red tourism' stopover". BBC News. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
  4. Tian, Sulei (2005-02-22). "China boosts "red tourism" in revolutionary bases". Chinese Embassy in Delhi/Xinhua.
  5. "Trends: China further develops red tourism". Global Times. July 8, 2010. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011.
  6. "China boosts "red tourism" in revolutionary bases". People's Daily. February 22, 2005. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
  7. Red Tourism Alliance formed in Fujian's Gutian 12 Dec 2009
  8. Red Tourism: Yan'an China Pictorial 2002
  9. Red Tourism: Jinggangshan China Pictorial 2002
  10. "Torrential rains hit east China "red tourism" attraction". Xinhua News. 2010-07-26.
  11. Red Tourism: Zunyi China Pictorial 2002
  12. Will "Red Tourism" take off in the Chinese Hainan? Or is the future "Green" and "Blue"?
  13. White, Chris (March 2017). "Appropriating Christian History in Fujian: Red Tourism Meets the Cross". Studies in World Christianity. 23 (1): 35–50. doi:10.3366/swc.2017.0168.
  14. Bedard, Ron (October 28, 2010). "Red Tourism in the Czech Republic". TripAtlas.com.
  15. Lyudmila S., Timofeeva (2018). ""Red Tourism" as a factor of stimulation of Interregional and International Tourism". Dilemas Contemporáneos: Educación, Política y Valores. 6: 1–15 – via EBSCO Discovery Service.

Further reading
  • Yiping Li; Zhi Yi Hu; Chao Zhi Zhang. Red tourism: sustaining communist identity in a rapidly changing China. Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, Volume 8, Issue 1 & 2 March 2010, pages 101 - 119.
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