80th anniversary of war victory inspires Red tourism

Red tourism, visiting locations with historical significance to the Communist Party of China, is sweeping the nation as China celebrates the 80th anniversary of victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War.

Jinggangshan city in East China's Jiangxi province has seen bookings to its Red tourism scenic spots rise by 22 percent this summer, according to travel portal Qunar. The city is considered a cradle of the Chinese revolution where the CPC established its first rural revolutionary base in 1927.

Bookings to other renowned Red tourism spots such as Yan'an in Shaanxi province and Shaoshan in Hunan province have increased by 20 percent and 12 percent, respectively, year-on-year, according to Qunar.

"I'm deeply touched by the perseverance, upbeat and unyielding spirit of Chinese soldiers during their long and arduous fights against the Japanese invasion in the 1930s and 1940s," said Ye Mingsheng, 17, while visiting the Taihang Memorial Museum of the Eighth Route Army in late July with his parents.

He said visiting the memorial hall was like attending an immersive history lesson, where he could feel the difficulties the Chinese soldiers had faced during the war, and their optimism and unyielding determination have also inspired him. "The trip has intensified my national ethos," he said.

Cai Miao, a manager from travel agency Tuniu, said that some recently released movies have intensified people's desire for Red tourism this summer.

Dead To Rights, for example, which is set during the Nanjing Massacre in 1937, tells the story of a group of Chinese civilians seeking refuge in a photo studio and risking their lives to expose atrocities committed by the Imperial Japanese Army. The film was released on July 25, and from that day to Aug 3, travel bookings to Nanjing increased by 16 percent from the period of July 15 to July 24 on Tuniu.

"Tour products to Nanjing, capital city of East China's Jiangsu province, have been some of our bestsellers this summer. Many of our customers said the most important stop of their trips to the city is to visit the Memorial Hall for the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, which memorializes those killed in the Nanjing Massacre by the Imperial Japanese Army," Cai Miao said.

She added that young Chinese people were the majority taking Red tourism trips this summer, either with their families or during company team building events.

"Places including Beijing, Nanjing in Jiangsu, Guangzhou in Guangdong and Changsha in Hunan province have been the most popular destinations for Red tourism trip goers this summer," she said.

Qunar said that several Red tourism destinations have launched theatrical performances or outdoor shows based on stories of the CPC's development to attract tourists.

It said that ticket bookings to the theatrical performance — The Great Turning Point in Zunyi, Guizhou province, had increased threefold this summer. The performance centers on the Zunyi Meeting in 1935, a landmark event in the history of the CPC, as it largely determined the fate of the Party at a critical juncture for its survival.

Zhang Jinshan, a tourism planning and development researcher at Beijing Union University, said that Red tourism is a combination of Red culture — a culture related to the CPC and its revolutionary history, and travel.

"The increasing popularity of Red tourism among Chinese people, especially the young adults and children, enables the nation's younger generations to learn the values and ideals of the CPC, and the hardships Chinese people experienced to establish the People's Republic of China," he said, adding that visiting Red tourism spots can also remind people of safeguarding the homeland and cherishing the hard-won peace.