Better lives

In February 2017, Jinggangshan was removed from the national list of poverty-stricken cities. It was one of the first places in the country to be taken off the list as a result of a growing red education and tourism industry that has created many jobs and boosted local incomes.

There are about 250 red history educations centers in Jinggangshan, offering Party history courses that feature immersive and interactive experiences. The number of attendees saw an average annual increase of 40 percent between 2014 and 2019, according to official data.

Xie Yanjun, who runs a red education and tourism agency, said the industry was affected by the COVID-19 epidemic last year, but this year the mountain town will see an influx of tourists as the Party's centenary draws near.

He said the booming industry has brought great changes for the residents, who have opened guesthouses to improve their incomes. Moreover, the vegetables they grow and the chickens and ducks they raise fetch good prices at the market because demand is high.

"People are more confident and smiling more because they now have access to friends from all over the world," he added.

He said many of his childhood friends have returned to Jinggangshan to start businesses thanks to the improved infrastructure and business environment, plus central government efforts to vitalize rural areas.

Nestled in the mountains, Mayuan village has clean new concrete roads, while recently renovated three-story buildings stand beside a lotus pool.

The village, with a population of about 1,000, features a bridge that was crossed by troops led by Mao Zedong to build their base in the mountains.

The development of rural tourism prompted Mayuan native Xie Xiaomin to return and open the first guesthouse in the village in 2017. The hostelry has 30 rooms and 80 beds, with each room costing about 100 yuan ($15.50) a day. In total, the village can accommodate 1,200 guests.

The 54-year-old is the grandson of Yuan Wencai, an influential local figure who helped Mao Zedong found the revolutionary base in the mountains and later joined the Red Army. At the entrance to Xie's guesthouse, a photo shows his grandfather as a young man.

"I admire my grandfather's courage, and my guests love to hear stories about him," he said, adding that he will keep telling the tales as long as people are willing to listen to them.

Poetry and posterity

In April, a group of cadres was reciting a poem at the site of the Huangyangjie Sentry Post. The verse was written by Mao Zedong to commemorate an important victory there in 1928, when the Red Army took advantage of the natural barriers of steep mountains and misty climate to defend themselves against an attack.

Zheng Xiaoming, who joined the Party in 2008 and is deputy general manager of the Hunan Sports Industrial Group, said, "This on-site activity helps make abstract concepts vivid and prompts deep emotions."

He was attending a two-week session at the China Executive Leadership Academy of Jinggangshan for Party cadres from industries nationwide. The training featured on-site visits, lectures, videos, case studies and discussions.

Located in the mountains, the facility, which opened in 2005, is one of three executive leadership academies in China offering short sessions for middle- and high-level Party cadres.

By March, 1,988 training programs had been organized, involving 100,000 people.

Mei Liming, the academy's vice-president, said, "We use the Party's revolutionary history to enlighten the cadres. Through it, they can draw the wisdom and strength needed to guide now and in the future."

The education focuses on the cadres' abilities in terms of research, decision making, problem solving, emergency response and working within communities. The latest Party theories and national documents, including the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), have been integrated into the teaching content, Mei added.

Zheng said, "Just like the spirit of relying on the masses during revolutionary times, the goals set by a business also depend on all staff members working together."

Luo Jinfei, another attendee and deputy head of the government of Tianjin's Hebei district, said: "As a leading cadre at the grassroots level, it's important for me to understand the needs of the masses. Under very difficult circumstances in the Jinggang Mountains, the Party was able to obtain effective resources to carry out the struggle. Facing the current economic situation and social developments, we must also learn to work in accordance with local conditions."

Du Dongyun, another trainee and vice-president of the South-Central University for Nationalities in Wuhan, Hubei province, said the session had helped him understand that Party members should always serve the people.

"Last year, during the epidemic prevention and control measures in Wuhan (Hubei province), many arduous tasks were undertaken by Party members," he said.