A lady walks along a village street on her way home as usual. A few Japanese soldiers, who snuck into the village under the guidance of a traitor, begin to tease and harass the girl. She is helpless to defend herself. About that time, a plainclothes soldier of the Eighth Route Army happens to come that way. Upon seeing the woman's plight, he punches and kicks the Japanese enemies. Driving those villains away, the hero rescues the lady, but their victory is short-lived. In revenge, a large number of Japanese forces attack the village. The Eight Route Army arrives in time to take on the Japanese army. The sound of gunshots is deafening, and smoke fills the air.

You might think this scene comes from some novel or historical film, but actually it happens every day in Wuxiang, Shanxi Province.

Participating in history

At The Eighth Route Army Cultural Park, visitors are invited to join in the experience-oriented scenes alongside professional actors. Female tourists play the "Japanese soldiers" while male tourists are dressed up as the "lady."

Before the final performance, these guest actors are given a final challenge: they are required to "fall dead" in every way possible.

The Eighth Route Army Cultural Park in Wuxiang is part of "red tourism" - a rising trend in the domestic tourism industry. Besides the Cultural Park, there is a Guerrilla Warfare Experience Park and a stage drama called Taihangshan performed by more than 600 people.

Wuxiang allocated 600 million yuan ($96.54 million) to enrich local red tourism since August 2008 and plans to develop more attractions using The Eighth Route Army as the theme.

Driven by favorable policies and significant public interest, red tourism all around the nation is experiencing its own "Great Leap Forward" with the help of market-oriented operations.

Red tourism is a subset of tourism in China in which Chinese people visit revolutionary sites with historical significance. It dates back to the 1970s when there was feverish interest in revolutionary sites such as Yan'an - the heart of the Communist Party of China (CPC) during 1935-48 - in northern Shaanxi Province, and Jinggang Mountain - birthplace of the Chinese Red Army - in southwestern Jiangxi Province. However, in those days, traveling was an unimaginable luxury for most common people.

With the economic boom seen in China in recent decades, Chinese people have more disposable income as well as opportunities for traveling.

By popular demand

In December 2004, the National Development and Reform Commission formulated the General Plan for the Development of Red Tourism (2004-2010). The plan defined the 12 major tourist areas that best represent the progressive phases of revolution in China.

Beyond the economic development and policy support, the most important reason driving the success of red tourism in China is people's demand, suggested by Liu Xiao, vice professor at the Tourism Institute of Beijing Union University. He told the Global Times, "When people are no longer worried about food and safety, they begin to look for something that can satisfy their spiritual needs. Tourists visit these revolutionary sites because they want to find out what inspired the older generation to overcome so many difficulties even in the toughest times. Feeding one's spirit from heritage, I think this is the true meaning of traveling and red tourism."

Qin Yongchao, 24, just visited Yan'an. He said, "Yan'an is a place that I wanted to visit since childhood. In the CPC's early history, there have been a lot of significant events that happened in Yan'an and had an influence on our life today. For me, it's a good place to learn the history. I really respect the older generation of the CPC and appreciate what they accomplished. So in my eyes, the sky, the earth, everything in Yan'an is beautiful."

However, when exhibitions, cemeteries and lectures become an emphasized aspect of a red tourism site, its attractiveness is reduced accordingly. Many visitors have expressed the feeling, "Most red-themed tours are almost the same. I don't think I have any interest to have a second visit," as one netizen wrote on Sina Weibo.

In order to regain people's interest in red tourism, some places have already realized that they need to develop new attractions. Take the example of The Eighth Route Army Cultural Park in Wuxiang: the experience-oriented learning environment get tourists involved, it entertains them and makes longer lasting and deeper impression.

"Just a superficial understanding through cursory observation cannot satisfy tourists anymore. They want to experience the history; they need to get involved," said Professor Liu Xiao.

Another successful innovation is to combine the red-themed cultural landscape with a green natural landscape.

Shaoshan, located in northwestern of Xiangtan, Hunan Province, is one of the key national-level scenic spots as well as an important attraction commemorating the revolution of the CPC. Taking advantage of the surrounding tourism resources, Shaoshan has become the transfer station to many natural scenic areas such as Zhangjiajie and Fenghuang ancient town. Both sites are also in Hunan Province.

The combination not only attracts more tourists, but increases the income of the local tourism industry.

Red cultural industry

Some red tourism areas with an even bigger ambition have come up with the idea of developing a red film base.

Yimeng red film base in Shandong Province, which was launched with a 260 million yuan ($41.8 million) investment and covers 186 acres, has served as the location to shoot more than 10 movies and dramas so far and was upgraded to National 4A scenic spot this January.

Along with red tourism, red-themed film, music, publishing, drama, dance and its related cultural products have formed a red cultural industry valued at over trillions of yuan.

Source: Global Times