{"id":2038,"date":"2012-01-26T02:31:55","date_gmt":"2012-01-25T18:31:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mdnphoto.com\/blog\/?p=2038"},"modified":"2012-01-26T02:31:55","modified_gmt":"2012-01-25T18:31:55","slug":"red-china-rising-bourgeouise-tourism-communist-heartland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/2012\/01\/26\/red-china-rising-bourgeouise-tourism-communist-heartland\/","title":{"rendered":"Red China Rising: Bourgeoisie Tourism in the Communist Heartland"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/20110526_mdnphoto_shaoshan_mao_hunan_communism_tourism01.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2039\" title=\"A Mao Zedong effigy sits in front of a backdrop of his former home for tourist photos in Shaoshan, the birthplace of Mao Zedong and CCP pilgrimage site\" src=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/20110526_mdnphoto_shaoshan_mao_hunan_communism_tourism01.jpg\" alt=\"A Mao Zedong effigy sits in front of a backdrop of his former home for tourist photos in Shaoshan, the birthplace of Mao Zedong and CCP pilgrimage site\" width=\"950\" height=\"633\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"paragraph\">\n<p>This is the second of a series of posts detailing the bourgeois practices of nouveau-riche, communist-heritage pilgrims who possess expectations and consumer desires that seem at odd with the core ideologies of the founding fathers of the Chinese Revolution. Armed with cash and a new sense of leisure, most of these fledgling tourists first make their way to <a title=\"Shaoshan - Wikipedia\" href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Shaoshan\" target=\"_blank\">Shaoshan\/\u97f6\u5c71<\/a>, the birthplace of Mao Zedong. A slew of &#8220;red&#8221; products and trinkets are available around every corner even in the face of sincere reverence for founding Chinese Communist Party leaders that borderlines on idolization. Elderly tourists kowtow to statues of Mao Zedong while company retreats sing &#8220;red&#8221; songs and pledge oaths. These blind followers make easy prey for egregious tourist traps such as the Shao Yue Palace Maoist Family History Show, where attendants usher punters into Mao Zedong veneration halls, hand out lucky ornaments, ask them to bow to a Mao Zedong statue three times and then try to charge them for the &#8220;blessed&#8221; ornaments. Some estimate the value of the entire &#8220;red&#8221; industry at $1.5 billion dollars and Mao Zedong&#8217;s hometown is at the epicenter. Also check out the last post in the series on &#8220;<a title=\"Red China Rising: From Revolution to Reaction \u2013 \u201cThe Defense of Yan\u2019an\u201d - mdnphoto\" href=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/2011\/09\/16\/red-china-rising-from-revolution-to-reaction-the-defense-of-yanan\/\">The Defense of Yan&#8217;an<\/a>&#8221; reenactment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/20110526_mdnphoto_shaoshan_mao_hunan_communism_tourism02.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2040\" title=\"A company tourist group pays reverence to Mao Zedong by bowing before his large statue near his former home in Shaoshan, the birthplace of Mao Zedong and CCP pilgrimage site\" src=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/20110526_mdnphoto_shaoshan_mao_hunan_communism_tourism02.jpg\" alt=\"A company tourist group pays reverence to Mao Zedong by bowing before his large statue near his former home in Shaoshan, the birthplace of Mao Zedong and CCP pilgrimage site\" width=\"950\" height=\"633\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/20110526_mdnphoto_shaoshan_mao_hunan_communism_tourism03.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligntriplel size-full wp-image-2041\" title=\"Busts of Mao Zedong stand outside a &quot;red&quot; product store in Shaoshan, the birthplace of Mao Zedong and CCP pilgrimage site\" src=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/20110526_mdnphoto_shaoshan_mao_hunan_communism_tourism03.jpg\" alt=\"Busts of Mao Zedong stand outside a &quot;red&quot; product store in Shaoshan, the birthplace of Mao Zedong and CCP pilgrimage site\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/20110526_mdnphoto_shaoshan_mao_hunan_communism_tourism04.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligntriplec size-full wp-image-2042\" title=\"Tourists line up to enter Mao Zedong's former home while others take photos outside in Shaoshan, the birthplace of Mao Zedong and CCP pilgrimage site\" src=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/20110526_mdnphoto_shaoshan_mao_hunan_communism_tourism04.jpg\" alt=\"Tourists line up to enter Mao Zedong's former home while others take photos outside in Shaoshan, the birthplace of Mao Zedong and CCP pilgrimage site\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/20110526_mdnphoto_shaoshan_mao_hunan_communism_tourism05.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligntripler size-full wp-image-2043\" title=\"Statues of Mao Zedong sit inside a &quot;red&quot; product store in Shaoshan, the birthplace of Mao Zedong and CCP pilgrimage site\" src=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/20110526_mdnphoto_shaoshan_mao_hunan_communism_tourism05.jpg\" alt=\"Statues of Mao Zedong sit inside a &quot;red&quot; product store in Shaoshan, the birthplace of Mao Zedong and CCP pilgrimage site\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/20110526_mdnphoto_shaoshan_mao_hunan_communism_tourism06.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligntriplel size-full wp-image-2044\" title=\"Attendants at the &quot;Shao Yue Palace Maoist Family History Show&quot; tout &quot;red&quot; products to tourists before ushering them into Mao Zedong veneration halls in Shaoshan, the birthplace of Mao Zedong and CCP pilgrimage site\" src=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/20110526_mdnphoto_shaoshan_mao_hunan_communism_tourism06.jpg\" alt=\"Attendants at the &quot;Shao Yue Palace Maoist Family History Show&quot; tout &quot;red&quot; products to tourists before ushering them into Mao Zedong veneration halls in Shaoshan, the birthplace of Mao Zedong and CCP pilgrimage site\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/20110526_mdnphoto_shaoshan_mao_hunan_communism_tourism07.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligntriplec size-full wp-image-2045\" title=\"Tourists have been coming to Shaoshan, the birthplace of Mao Zedong and CCP pilgrimage site, for almost fifty years\" src=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/20110526_mdnphoto_shaoshan_mao_hunan_communism_tourism07.jpg\" alt=\"Tourists have been coming to Shaoshan, the birthplace of Mao Zedong and CCP pilgrimage site, for almost fifty years\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/20110526_mdnphoto_shaoshan_mao_hunan_communism_tourism08.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligntripler size-full wp-image-2046\" title=\"A &quot;red&quot; product vendor sits at her stall near Mao Zedong's former home in Shaoshan, the birthplace of Mao Zedong and CCP pilgrimage site\" src=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/20110526_mdnphoto_shaoshan_mao_hunan_communism_tourism08.jpg\" alt=\"A &quot;red&quot; product vendor sits at her stall near Mao Zedong's former home in Shaoshan, the birthplace of Mao Zedong and CCP pilgrimage site\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/20110526_mdnphoto_shaoshan_mao_hunan_communism_tourism09.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligntriplel size-full wp-image-2047\" title=\"An advertisement to have your photo taken in traditional CCP soldier garb in Shaoshan, the birthplace of Mao Zedong and CCP pilgrimage site\" src=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/20110526_mdnphoto_shaoshan_mao_hunan_communism_tourism09.jpg\" alt=\"An advertisement to have your photo taken in traditional CCP soldier garb in Shaoshan, the birthplace of Mao Zedong and CCP pilgrimage site\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/20110526_mdnphoto_shaoshan_mao_hunan_communism_tourism10.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligntriplec size-full wp-image-2048\" title=\"A Mao Zedong effigy for tourist photos in Shaoshan, the birthplace of Mao Zedong and CCP pilgrimage site\" src=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/20110526_mdnphoto_shaoshan_mao_hunan_communism_tourism10.jpg\" alt=\"A Mao Zedong effigy for tourist photos in Shaoshan, the birthplace of Mao Zedong and CCP pilgrimage site\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/20110526_mdnphoto_shaoshan_mao_hunan_communism_tourism11.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligntripler size-full wp-image-2049\" title=\"Recreations of Mao Zedong's calligraphy for sale in Shaoshan, the birthplace of Mao Zedong and CCP pilgrimage site\" src=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/20110526_mdnphoto_shaoshan_mao_hunan_communism_tourism11.jpg\" alt=\"Recreations of Mao Zedong's calligraphy for sale in Shaoshan, the birthplace of Mao Zedong and CCP pilgrimage site\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/20110526_mdnphoto_shaoshan_mao_hunan_communism_tourism12.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligntriplel size-full wp-image-2050\" title=\"Tourists wait in a long line outside of Mao Zedong's former home while a tour guide in a pink jumpsuit talks on her cellphone in Shaoshan, the birthplace of Mao Zedong and CCP pilgrimage site\" src=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/20110526_mdnphoto_shaoshan_mao_hunan_communism_tourism12.jpg\" alt=\"Tourists wait in a long line outside of Mao Zedong's former home while a tour guide in a pink jumpsuit talks on her cellphone in Shaoshan, the birthplace of Mao Zedong and CCP pilgrimage site\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/20110526_mdnphoto_shaoshan_mao_hunan_communism_tourism13.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligntriplec size-full wp-image-2051\" title=\"Mao Zedong literature line the stalls near his former home in Shaoshan, the birthplace of Mao Zedong and CCP pilgrimage site\" src=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/20110526_mdnphoto_shaoshan_mao_hunan_communism_tourism13.jpg\" alt=\"Mao Zedong literature line the stalls near his former home in Shaoshan, the birthplace of Mao Zedong and CCP pilgrimage site\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/20110526_mdnphoto_shaoshan_mao_hunan_communism_tourism14.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligntripler size-full wp-image-2052\" title=\"A child poses in front of Mao Zedong's former home in Shaoshan, the birthplace of Mao Zedong and CCP pilgrimage site\" src=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/20110526_mdnphoto_shaoshan_mao_hunan_communism_tourism14.jpg\" alt=\"A child poses in front of Mao Zedong's former home in Shaoshan, the birthplace of Mao Zedong and CCP pilgrimage site\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is the second of a series of posts detailing the bourgeois practices of nouveau-riche, communist-heritage pilgrims who possess expectations and consumer desires that seem at odd with the core ideologies of the founding fathers of the Chinese Revolution. Armed with cash and a new sense of leisure, most of these fledgling tourists first make [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,12,14],"tags":[70,79,80,81,95,113,200,203,236,253,254,326,329,346,402],"class_list":["post-2038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-counterfeit_paradises_category","category-society_category","category-travel_category","tag-ccp","tag-china","tag-chinese-communist-party","tag-chinese-revolution","tag-communism","tag-culture","tag-heritage","tag-history","tag-leisure","tag-mao","tag-mao-zedong","tag-reenactment","tag-revolution","tag-shaoshan","tag-tourism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2038"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2038\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}