Eating like a soldier proves popular

Liu Hong, said red education also boosts the development of tourism-related industries, including hotels, catering and souvenirs.

Chen Qiuhui, a university teacher from Jiangsu province who visited Jinggangshan in May, said the teaching activities there are more interactive and experiential than traditional forms of red education like attending lectures.

“When you are dressed in the Army’s uniform and present a bunch of flowers to the revolutionary martyrs, the respect in the heart arises spontaneously, which cannot be experienced in classrooms,” Chen said.

Li Minghua and his wife, Xu Houmei, are kept busy at home every day, preparing ingredients for visitors to Bashang village who want to cook a meal like the Red Army used to eat when it was based in the area in the 1920s.

The experience, which costs 35 yuan ($5), is popular among visitors to Jinggangshan, Jiangxi province, who want a taste of the soldiers’ daily life, with a diet mainly of vegetables like pumpkin and corn.

It has also provided a welcome boost to villagers’ incomes.

Bashang is located in the center of the Jinggangshan revolutionary base, only 6 kilometers from the house where Mao Zedong once lived. Known as Red Army Village, it features the former sites of an Army training ground and headquarters, as well as the tomb of a revolutionary martyr.

In 2012, after Jinggangshan was designated a national youth education center for modern history, Bashang took advantage of its historical resources to develop tourism.

Village Party secretary Li Guofeng said: “When the program began in 2012, villagers were hesitant to join in. Only eight families were involved in providing cooking services. But the growth in those people’s income set a good example others.”

Li said the village also expanded its road system and developed more themed programs to attract tourists.

Li Minghua said he had received about 600 visitors at his home this year. Last year, his family earned roughly 20,000 yuan through the meal program and another 30,000 yuan by providing accommodation.