After two months on the road, even two weeks at home in Changsha was too much for some of us. So we hit the road this weekend for a quick daylong pilgrimage to Shaoshan, the birthplace of Mao Zedong. The town generally gets mediocre reviews, which is why it took me two years to get there. But as the center of all things Mao-kitsch, we found plenty to appreciate.
Just one wall in one of many rooms filled with nothing but photographs of the Great Leader himself.
Nothing says "revering the memory of the Chairman" like a spot of dress-up.
One of Shaoshan's main attractions is a park filled with replicas of important sites from the Chinese Civil War, like this half-size model of a pagoda from Yan'an, the endpoint of the Long March. It's a Chinese-history Epcot Center.
Get in touch with your Red Guard roots with these vaguely vintage hangings.
Remember your visit to Shaoshan with a bust of Mao Zedong, available in a wide range of sizes and prices. Could market forces have reached even this last remaining bastion of Mao-worship?
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