Shaoshan

About Shaoshan

Green paddy fields, a lotus pond and a mud-brick farmhouse draw millions of Chinese visitors to Shaoshan, a small county-level city in the hills of central Hunan. Mao Zedong was born here in 1893 and lived in the valley until he left to study as a teenager, and the whole town has grown around that story. Red tourism, as it is called in China, is the backbone of the local economy.

The name comes from a legend: Emperor Shun is said to have passed through and played the Music of Shao, which summoned phoenixes to the hills. Mount Shaofeng, at 518.5 metres the highest point in the city, still watches over the valley. Mao's childhood home was confiscated and destroyed in 1929, rebuilt in its original form in 1950 and opened to the public in 1951.

A visit links the former residence, the bronze statue on Mao Zedong Square, the memorial museum, the secluded Dishui Cave compound and the cable car up Shaofeng. Most travellers come on a day trip from Changsha or Xiangtan, though staying overnight lets you see the main sites before the tour groups arrive.