Thousands pay homage in Mao’s hometown during Spring Festival

More than 70,000 people traveled to the hometown of late Chinese leader Mao Zedong in Shaoshan, Central China's Hunan Province during the Spring Festival as part of a local tradition to pay tribute to the Great Helmsman at the start of each lunar year.

The tradition remains controversial in China some 40 years after Mao's death, as some still revere the late leader as the creator of the country, while others criticize his policies and hold him accountable for the disastrous Cultural Revolution (1966-76).

According to the official website of the Shaoshan government, a total of 72,195 people had visited Mao Zedong Square and other memorial spots in the city as of Saturday, the last day of the Spring Festival break.

"It has become a voluntary event for local residents to pay visits to Mao Zedong's old residence or other museums related to him in Shaoshan during the Spring Festival holidays," Huang Feng, an official from the memorial hall of Mao in Shaoshan, told the Global Times on Saturday...
 [globaltimes.cn]
14/2/16