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Increasing interest in China’s recent past

CCTV.com

08-09-2015 13:14 BJT

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It has been over a decade since China began to promote what is known as "Red Tourism", in reference to tours of historic sites connected to the revolutionary activities of the Communist Party of China.

China's Tourism Administration says that by the end of 2014 more than 3.3 billion such trips had been made across the country. Wuxiang County in north China’s Shanxi province, is one of these sites. Our reporter Hu Chao travels there to see what is on offer for tourists. 

Yang Lei has been playing the role of a Japanese officer in a stage drama for many years in the Balujun Culture Park in Wuxiang County in north China’s Shanxi Province. And Balujun refers to the 8th Route Army.

The stage drama tells the story of how Chinese soldiers help villagers beat the Japanese invaders. The drama is so popular that it has become a must-see for tourists. It is usually put on four times a day.

In his role, Yang Lei has been ‘killed’ thousands of times on stage. His performance as an Imperial Japanese Army officer evokes such strong emotions among the audience, that some have even thrown things at him on stage.  

"I try to play the role of the Japanese officer as vividly as possible. I want the audience to see real history. My performance is meaningful as long as the audience can remember history and the courage of our Chinese soldiers," Yang said.

Opened in 2011, the Wuxiang Balujun Culture Park is one of many famous red tourist sites in China. The whole park has been decorated in the style of that time. Besides the stage dramas, the park also has various role-playing projects in simulated battlefield. Many tourists like what the park has on offer.

"It’s a meaningful trip for me. I’ve learned more about history, and it's impressed me very much," a tourist said.

The operating company says that the park received 350,000 tourists in 2014; an increase of 15 percent over 2013.

"Most of the tourists are middle-aged. But we’re seeing more young people coming here. We provide patriotism education as well as interactive entertainment. And we’ll make more efforts to attract more young tourists,” said Miao Changqing, deputy manager of Shanxi Hongxingyang Tourism Company.

Wuxiang County used to be the headquarters of Balujun during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. The local government has spent nearly a billion yuan to turn the county into a red tourism destination.

Walking around Wuxiang, you can feel the Red Culture all around-motivational slogans, red flags and sculptures of revolutionary figures, all making you feel that you have traveled back in time to the revolutionary era.

The increase in red tourism has boosted the local economic development. Wuxiang County says the total tourism revenue was up to 2.8 billion yuan in 2014.

In China, hundreds of red tourist sites have been built since 2004. China’s Tourism Administration says now one-fourth of total tourists visit the red tourist sites, bringing in a total revenue of 200 billion yuan. And the revenue has been increasing by 10 percent per year.

Experts also point out that red tourist sites should seek sustainable development by focusing more on innovation to attract more young people.