Shaoshan: Mao's Birthplace 韶山
Shaoshan, a small hamlet 90 km southwest of Changsha the capital of Hunan Province, is the birthplace of Mao Zedong.
Once a mass pilgrimage site in the 1960s and 1970s (it is estimated that over 40 million people have visited Shaosan since the 1950s), Shaosan is regaining its popularity with Chinese tourists who flock to see the house where the Great Helmsman grew up.
Mao was born here in 1893, the son of reasonably well-off peasants and lived in Shaosan until he was 16, when he left to attend school in Changsha.
Modern Shaoshan is two distinct places - the new town (Shaoshan shi) centered on the railway and bus stations and the original village (Shaoshan dong) 6 km away.
Mao's Childhood Home
Mao's family home (Mao zedong guju) is a sparse mud-brick house with 13 small rooms near a lotus-filled pond. On display are Mao's bed with wooden frame and mosquito net, the kitchen, a variety of photographs and other period furniture and utensils.
Mao Zedong Exhibition Hall
The Mao Zedong Exhibitional Hall (Mao zedong tongzhi jinianguan) contains more Mao memorabilia, photos of Mao with other leaders and some of the Great Leader's poems and calligraphy. Mao's official car of the time and mannequins depicting Mao's return at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution are also on display.
Opposite a large bronze statue of Mao is the Mao Family Ancestral Hall with photographs of Chinese leaders visiting Shaosan and exhibits of Mao's early work among the peasants in Hunan.
Dripping Water Cave
Situated 3 km from Shaoshan, Dripping Water Cave (Dishui dong), is a villa Mao had built in the 1960s and where he returned in 1966 for eleven days in June. The bunker-like villa contains a spartan tiled bathroom and bedroom evocative of 1960s China.
Shao Peak
The small conical mountain visible from the village is Shao Peak (Shaoshan feng), which the young Mao no doubt visited as a young boy. Now there is a viewing pavilion and stone tablets engraved with Mao's highly regarded poems. It takes around an hour to 90 minutes to scale the hill or take the cable car.
Shaoshan Essentials
- Transport
- Shaoshan is usually a day-trip from Changsha.
- Train 5365 leaves Changsha daily at 6.40am, arriving in Shaoshan at 9.30 am Train 5366 leaves Shaoshan at 5 pm and arrives at Changsha Station at 8.16 pm There are buses from Changsha South Bus Station to Shaoshan every 50 minutes or so from around 7 am to 5 pm. The last return bus to Changsha is at around 5.30 pm.
- Changsha has flights to Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Xian and a daily train to Beijing and Guangzhou. There is an overnight rail service to Shenzhen.
- Minibuses and taxis ferry visitors between Shaoshan Station and the sights in Shaoshan village.
Shaoshan Accommodation
The 4-star Shaoshan Hotel is in Shaoshan village. Another option is the Hualong Hotel.
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