Did you know that there is something known as “Red Tourism?”
The color “red” based on basic common sense conveys ‘communism’ or China. And that’s the right direction…
Red tourism 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."
The Chinese Govt is encouraging this patriotic nostalgia to bolster support in an economic slowdown and to cement backing for President Xi as he combats months of civil unrest in Hong Kong and external challenges from a more assertive U.S. under President Donald Trump.
Xi fears that if the Chinese people aren’t consistently reminded of the great and glorious achievements of the CCP, they will treat it with indifference or worse, hostility.
The top five spots on this ‘Red Tourism’ are 1) Yann – the land of China’s Communist Party revolution. It was Mao Zedong’s revolutionary base area when the Red Army arrived there at the end of 1935 after the grueling Long March. (2) Shaoshan - the hometown of Mao Zedong. (3)Nanchang - site of a significant uprising. (4) Jinggang Mountain - famous for its profound red culture, with 29 historical sites. (5) Zunyi - famous for its ethnic minorities’ cultures.
In India, more than political, we could have many such trails – Krishna, the Pandavas, Gandhi, Raja Chola, Alexandar, Akbar, Shivaji – it would be a wonderful way to learn our history and feel so patriotic.