DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Tuesday, February 23, 2021 | 17 LIFE

Left: Students visit the Xiaoping Path scenic area in , where Chinese leader lived and worked for several years. Above: The Grand Hotel serves as the command center for the monumental Nanchang Uprising on Aug 1, 1927. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY A cradle of the revolution Jiangxi province hosts cities and rural settlements that were crucial to the operations of the Party and Red Army in the early 20th century and remain important to public education today, report Cheng Yuezhu in and Wang Jian in Nanchang.

iangxi province has long tionary­education base for teenagers. ly workers and farmers, became the PATH TO GLORY been a landmark of the Com­ Path to glory The number of people visiting Party’s authorized armed force. munist Party of China’s revo­ MAPPING Jinggangshan for educational pro­ attacks forced the lutionary movements. It’s PROGRESS grams to study the history of the Red Army to evacuate the Central homeJ to a slew of historical sites and CPC continually increased during Revolutionary Base in October 1934 educational institutions where the The city has more than 30 red­ the five years until 2019, when and begin the . stories of leaders and martyrs of tourism destinations, says Xu Kai, a 435,700 people participated. But the regime provided valuable yore are still told. representative of Nanchang’s cul­ Trainees come from 31 provinces, references for the construction of Its major cities, including its capi­ ture bureau. municipalities and autonomous revolutionary bases during the War tal Nanchang and county­level cities “Our city has created a number of regions on the Chinese mainland, as of Resistance Against Japanese Jinggangshan and Ruijin, have well­known red­tourism destina­ well as Hong Kong, Macao and Tai­ Aggression (1931­45) and the War of remained iconic red­tourism desti­ tion brands,” Xu says. wan. Liberation (1946­49), as well as the nations, drawing visitors from “The Nanchang Aug 1st Memorial Former vice­inspector of the CPC establishment of New China’s around the country and the world to Hall and the Nanchang New Fourth History Research Office Xing Jiping administrative system. learn about the revolutions and zeit­ Army Exhibition Hall are national­ says Jinggangshan has developed Ruijin’s tourism development has geist of the early 20th century. level 4A scenic areas. And the an interactive red­education system gone beyond tapping its historical Xiaoping Path scenic area is rated that incorporates lectures, dramas, resources to also focus on sustaina­ Nanchang 3A and, following renovations, is AR and role playing to enable partic­ bility, in hopes of developing both Nanchang, a city with a history of applying for 4A status.” ipants to experience Red Army sol­ red and green travel. It seeks to over 2,000 years, hosted the found­ Much investment has been made diers’ everyday lives. become a zero­waste city, says Zhong ing of the People’s Liberation Army to preserve historical relics and The China Executive Leadership Yanlin, director of Ruijin’s revolu­ with the monumental Nanchang upgrade visitor experiences. Academy Jinggangshan, for tionary destination research center. Uprising on Aug 1, 1927. The local government has invest­ instance, is renowned for its innova­ An exemplar is the Yuxue Ruijing The CPC had endured the ed nearly 50 million yuan ($7.72 mil­ tive teaching method of bringing its scenic spot built in an abandoned Kuomintang’s political purges ear­ lion) to restore sites related to the lectures out of classrooms and to the quarry, after more than four dec­ lier that year, and decided to Nanchang Uprising and improve historical sites. The trainees take ades of mining damaged the vegeta­ engage in armed resistance. their security, and fire­ and light­ field trips to pay tribute to revolu­ tion and surrounding environment. A revolutionary force led by He ning­protection facilities. tionary martyrs and retrace the Red “The scenic spot was created in Long arrived in Nanchang in late The museums have adopted such Army’s arduous path. 2019 and opened to the public in July of 1927. technologies as virtual reality and “These approaches have enliv­ January 2020, transforming the The Jiangxi Grand Hotel was augmented reality to provide ened the profound red culture and mountains into a grand stage for an turned into a command center, and immersive experiences for viewers enhanced trainees’ empathy,” Xing immersive play with a cast of over a CPC front­line committee headed of different age groups and cultural says. 200 performers and advanced light­ by Party leader Zhou Enlai was backgrounds. “A regulated, refined and stan­ ing technology,” Zhong says. established. dardized management model for “It transports audiences back to Under the leadership of military Jinggangshan red education has been established, that era so they can closely observe strategists, including Zhou, He, Ye The picturesque mountainous which can be copied, promoted and the establishment of the Chinese Ting, and Liu Bocheng, the city of Jinggangshan on Jiangxi’s Top: The Yeping Revolution Heritage Site in Ruijin hosts the first sustained.” Soviet Republic and the Red Army’s uprising began at 2 am on Aug 1. southwestern border is known as a Chinese Soviet Republic congress in 1931. ZHU YAN / FOR CHINA DAILY departure along the Long March.” Thousands from the opposing cradle of the revolution and a cor­ Above: Tourists visit the auditorium for the provisional central Ruijin Since 2018, the city has been trans­ side were defeated after more than nerstone of New China’s founding. government of the Chinese Soviet Republic in Ruijin. Following the success of the Jing­ forming defunct factories and four hours of combat. In October 1927, led YANG YOUMING / FOR CHINA DAILY gangshan Revolutionary Base and schools into red­education bases. For The revolt marked the beginning the revolutionary army to the Jing­ a series of guerrilla attacks, Mao, instance, the Hongyuan training base of the CPC independently leading gangshan area, waging guerrilla Zhu De and other Red Army lead­ in a renovated factory hosts lecture an armed revolution and establish­ warfare and establishing CPC orga­ Marxist principles tailored to Chi­ The “Jinggangshan spirit”, which ers founded the Central Revolu­ halls, canteens and dormitories that ing its own army. nizations. nese conditions. values faith, perseverance, reason tionary Base and the Chinese can accommodate over 600 students. In commemoration, the date is The Party’s first rural revolution­ The strategy was later elaborated and the people, has been passed Soviet Republic. The city has also been preserving designated as the national Army Day, ary base, the Jinggangshan Revolu­ upon in Mao’s famous letter, entitled down to contemporary times. The provisional central govern­ its historical sites with sustainable and the Chinese characters for Aug 1 tionary Base, was essentially A Single Spark Can Start a Prairie The city has established a number ment of the Chinese Soviet Republic measures and promoting zero waste are printed on the military flag. established by the end of January Fire. The phrase points out that, of education bases, including the Chi­ was founded in Jiangxi on Dec 7, to the general public. The Jiangxi Grand Hotel has been 1928. It’s where the strategy of encir­ while the Red Army may seem trivi­ na Executive Leadership Academy 1931, with Ruijin as its capital. Mao preserved as a part of the Nanchang cling the cities from the countryside al, it possesses great potential to kin­ Jinggangshan, the Jiangxi Executive assumed the chairmanship. Contact the writers through Aug 1st Memorial Hall. was proposed as an adaptation of dle rapid transformation. Leadership Academy and a revolu­ The Red Army, comprising main­ [email protected]