Daytripper is a regular column that aims to help people get the most out of their PRD experience by proposing fun excursions that can be made in a single day to explore the local culture and nature of the region.
Shaoshan is the worst kind of grubby, dirty town that China has to offer; a depressing wasteland where poor farmers eke out a miserable living, retiring at night to filth-encrusted concrete shells.
This should not be confused with the place where Mao Zedong spent his youth, which is on the outskirts of the ghastly modern habitation. While we can’t say what old Shaoshan used to look like, today it is a lush, green oasis that is carefully tended and preserved; a pastoral Mecca for Red tourism.
Millions flock here every year to see where the Great Helmsman spent his early life. Most of these visitors are Chinese, though the surprisingly accurate English, French and Russian translations that greet visitors at the vehicle drop-off point attest to the government initiatives afoot to encourage foreign travelers.
Old Shaoshan is a pretty little hamlet with Mao’s childhood home at its heart. This bungalow, made from earth and wood, is easily identified by the long queue of people stretching back from its doors, waiting patiently to trudge through the bare rooms that once enclosed the communist hero.
As anybody who has read a little into Mao’s history will know, his parents were wealthy farmers, but don’t expect to find any worldly trappings decorating his former abode. It’s austere, basic, the kind of home a serious communist thinker should have, even if it is larger than most peasant dwellings.
While the Chairman’s old domicile is undoubtedly the focal point of old Shaoshan, every pilgrim also takes a moment to make obeisance to an imposing (but paternal) statue of Mao that overlooks a paved square. Steady streams of tour groups with red sashes wrapped around their arms or necks take photos en masse, interspersed by individuals snapping that essential selfie with the main man.
Along other sides of the square are an ancestral hall and a memorial museum, which contain items of clothing, calligraphic works and other Mao memorabilia that lend more color to the life of the legendary leader.
Both the quadrangle and the family digs are short walks from the bus stop and car park, but take advantage of the shuttle service if you wish to visit Water Dripping Cave, a scenic hillside retreat where Mao would go to contemplate life as a burgeoning philosopher, and where he later constructed a villa. While other parts of the tourism area are free, this part comes with an RMB50 price tag, which grants entrance to reasonably pretty views, though don’t expect to find the kind of peace and quiet that initially attracted Mao to the landscape in the first place.
If you stay the evening, you can also get tickets to a grand production that celebrates Mao’s life several times an evening, or visit a local restaurant to gorge on Mao’s favorite food: hongshao rou (braised pork in sauce).
For anybody interested in Mao and the history of communism in China, a visit to old Shaoshan is informative and eye-opening – not least because it provides a window into how the PRC wants people to perceive its founder. As a daytrip, however it’s only for the hardcore: getting from the PRD to Shaoshan and back on a Saturday or Sunday takes four hours each way from Guangzhou (five from Shenzhen).
A more relaxed option would be to spend a weekend in Changsha, allowing time to explore both Shaoshan and a little bit of Hunan’s capital.
How to get there
High-speed trains go from Guangzhou South and Shenzhen North to Shaoshan South Station. From there, tell anybody you see that you want to go to 毛泽东同志纪念馆 (Mao Zedong Tongzhi Jinian Guan) and they will direct you to the correct local bus or shuttle.
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