Bob and Ann in Elder Hostel China Odyssey 2004

We visited Mao’s birthplace, Shaoshan. First we had a nice lunch at the hotel and then gathered in an elegant conference room where a CPC functionary lectured us about Mao’s continuing popularity. Although some in our group resent the party line dished out by our local guides and lecturers, it is not obnoxious to me since they really seem more interested in selling their country than trying to convert us. Danny, our local guide, was quite good as an interpreter and occasionally ad-libbed that she was not translating something completely because it was not an answer to one of our questions.

Packed into a small bus, we were driven up the mountain to visit Mao’s birthplace, a typical landowner’s house that has been enshrined. On the way across to find Mao’s school house we came upon a rice paddy being plowed picturesquely by a farmer who even relinquished the reins to a Chinese tourist who waded shoeless and pants rolled up trying to drive the recalcitrant water buffalo through the field.

Water Dripping Cave Compound


Flowers at Water Dripping Cave Compound

Our next stop was the Water Dripping Cave, where Mao spent 11 days during the long march. Bob discovered that the building was basically a bomb shelter. Ann opted out to follow a path up the mountain to Mao’s great grandmother’s tomb. A road wound up dragon mountain to ‘running water dragon spring’, a pretty man-made grotto and pool, then the path led up a rocky stretch to a tiled path that wound up and down around the mountain for about 1/2 a mile to the tomb site which was plain but large. The pleasant walk back down past Tong Oil trees dropping white blossoms with red centers and past banks of purple and white azaleas back to find Bob photographing flowers and butterflies in a garden by the bus. An hour or so later we arrived at Xiangtan Hotel, an older hotel that had seen better days. Cigarette smell drove us from our assigned room. Yang helped us find another room after 3 others failed the sniff test. Our final room, we discovered later, had a leaky toilet that proved unable to handle the ‘night soil’ the next morning, ugh, not a great place and rather a tacky city, but we slept well knowing we were hopping the train in the morning for a 12 hour ride to Kaili.

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