What are some ideologically engaging places to visit on a trip in China? For better or for worse red tourism there seems particularly developed and commodified - I'm looking forward to seeing the contrast to eastern europe red historical sites, where post-communist states either tear it all down(Ukraine), fail to maintain it (Bosnia), or worse of all give it a lib rebranding as some kind of solemn commemoration to a dark age(Czech)
Are there any red themed sites you have enjoyed visiting or are looking to visit? Tours or accommodation recommendations are also very welcome.
Beijing and Yan'an seem to be a great start, with plenty of museums and art installations.
If I have enough pictures of myself doing Red Tourism on my phone, do you think the JDPON army will spare me when they occupy the burger reich?
>>2480632>some kind of solemn commemoration to a dark age(Czech)also ethiopia 2010
<The Red Terror Martyrs' Memorial Museum in Addis Ababa was established in 2010 as a memorial to those who died during the Red Terror under the Derg government.<The museum has displays of torture instruments, skulls and bones, coffins, bloody clothes and photographs of victims. In free tours of the museum, guides describes the history leading up to the Red Terror (starting from Haile Selassie's 80th birthday celebration), the actions taken toward citizens who opposed the Derg, how the prisoners were treated and how they secretly communicated among each other.they even did the glass skull/bone display like at tuol sleng, "never again" red tourism industry about to flourish it seems
>>2509111it was honestly the correct thing to do, the TPLF era of ethiopia from 1993-2018 was the greatest point in its development, far superior to the Derg and also not genocidal, murderous or psychopathic, like the derg was
>>2509112>genocidal, murderous or psychopathic, like the derg washowever destructive the derg might have been i still consider it rather masturbatory and utterly counterproductive to present it like this, whether it's this one, tuol sleng-choueng ek complex or gulag museum in moscow
>>2509117it's no less masturbatory than any other museum of atrocities, though i can see your point that it is a bit over the top
You're taking a trip to a country with architecture and artifacts thousands of years old and you want to go look at Soviet tanks and shit?
I actually just visited Yan'an (like, I'm in China right now, and just got the Yan'an express train to Xi'an today). Pics related. Highly recommend it, there are many places in the city that are not only just cool to visit but actually incredibly educational from a theory perspective - there's a lot to learn at the Yan'an Revolutionary Memorial Museum that Leftists across the world - especially in the west - would do very well to take note of. The day-to-day operations of revolution, how a revolution is organised, what life was like in Yan'an in that period, and how victory was achieved. It was a very educational experience. Plus there's a lot of - admittedly kinda expected, but nice nonetheless - merch and shit you can buy that's just kinda nice. The first thing I saw in the Yan'an airport was little chibi red army figurines. Pins, bags, stamps, prints, shirts, hats, the lot, you name it. It's all ridiculously cheap (i.e. usually >$10) and… well, the money probably goes directly to the CPC and the people of Yan'an anyway, so why not.
Go to Beijing first though (mostly because the easiest way to get to Yan'an is the daily flight from Beijing). The usual non-Commie tourist destinations are genuinely very cool - Forbidden City, Great Wall, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, etc - but, Tiananmen Square is nice, the Great Hall of the People and National Museum of China are right next to it, as is Mao's Mausoleum (I couldn't get inside, I think it's closed atm? Maybe it won't be when you go). The Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution is also cool to visit, a lot of museums of that type still have their 100th Anniversary of the CPC exhibits still on, so it's cool to see those.
One thing you'll find if you visit China is that while there are specific sites that are important for Communists, practically the entire country, every square inch of it, lives and breathes Socialism. Communism is very normalised here, it's very common to see portraits of Mao and various signs of the CPC. CPC members, actually, are pretty common as well, which is unsurprising, since the party has 100 million members - which means around one in eleven of all Chinese over the age of 15 are party members. Talking to Chinese people makes it very clear that Marxist philosophy and dialectical thinking is also a pretty normalised fact of life here. Every single person here, consciously and unconsciously, has a Dialectical outlook on the world that's pretty clearly informed by Marxist ideas. If you recognise Marxism-Leninism in practice, it'll be pretty easy for you to recognise which parts of Chinese society you interact with in your daily life here that exist specifically because China is a Socialist country.
In my stay in Beijing, there was a sign down the road from me that read "Democratic and Law Governed Block" with a Hammer and Sickle over it. I translated a couple signs next to it - it happened to be outside a bookstore, so some of them were unironically encouraging people to read theory (based) - but others explained what "Democratic and Law Governed Block" meant: essentially, it means an area - be it a block, a neighbourhood, or even an entire district - that is governed and managed in a "Grassroots democratic manner" by the people living there in accordance with "upholding the rule of law". I actually got to ask a Chinese person what that meant, and I told him, "That explanation just sounds like 'Worker's Self-Management' but with more words" - and he replied: "Well, yes, because that's exactly what it is".
That "Democratic and Law Governed Block" had a McDonalds on it. I guess we will have burgers after the revolution.
If you do go to China, make sure you download WeChat and get it all set up before you go, and either get your international data roaming set up or buy a Chinese eSIM when you land. China is a very digitised society, most people use WeChat for basically everything - most places will accept cash, but scanning a WeChat QR code linked to your bank account is the norm for everyone from Taxis to street vendors. Also, Didi ride hailing. Very useful.
>>2509290Thank you based australian poster and have a nice trip. Do you plan on going to other (post-)socialist countries in the foreseeable future?
>most people use WeChat for basically everythingA messenger model like this is supposedly being emulated by some other countries' private/partially privatized software companies, however unlike China none of them have the infrastructure (and are most of the time not socialist in the slightest).
>>2509290>Every single person here, consciously and unconsciously, has a Dialectical outlook on the world that's pretty clearly informed by Marxist ideas.This pattern of thought in Eastern society long predates their discovery of Marxism, it goes back thousands of years to Taoism, the I Ching, etc.
Do they have the Long March mapped out for those who wish to hike or bike it?
>>2509318I wanted to travel to the DPRK originally, but they're closed to tourism and I'd have to go to Beijing first anyway - so I went to China. When the DPRK opens up again I'd love to go there. Vietnam, Laos, and Cuba would also be great to visit, I've heard great things about Vietnam and Cuba and Laos just seems like it'd be cool - the Socialist country people often forget about.
Of course, at some point in my life I'd have to go visit Russia and see the sites of the Revolution… or its grave, anyway. Unrelated but I unironically think Russia will return to Socialism in my lifetime, it'll be a great day to see the RSFSR come back.
>A messenger model like this is supposedly being emulated by some other countries' private/partially privatized software companies, however unlike China none of them have the infrastructure (and are most of the time not socialist in the slightest).I agree, I don't think any western Society can meaningfully emulate WeChat in the slightest. If Google or Apple tried to do it it'd just be a poor imitation.
>>2509524I think some of it certainly comes from Legalism and Confucian ethics gelling well with Marxist concepts - e.g. the Five Constants and Four Virtues, Confucian Meritocracy, and insistence on Tian (天, literally "Heaven") as a transcendent Moral Order - though obviously the government dissuades other concepts like "Men are superior to Women". It's unsurprising that a culture based around Taoism ("go with the flow"), Confucianism ("Be nice to other people" and "there are people who are alive that aren't you, dipshit") and Legalism ("fuck you, obey the law") took to Communist ethics and economic ideas so well - since, logically, Communist governance tends to lead to what Confucianism would consider an ideal society.
>>2510033Well Legalism/Confucianism is sort of the monistic opposite of Taoism, they are sort of the two original primary schools of Chinese thought that influenced everything that came after. Both philosophies gel pretty well with authoritarianism though, as all Chinese philosophy was developed by people living under various totalitarian dynasties and that's the only kind of governance they really knew. Taoism, for example, is all about following "The Way" and living in harmony with nature and the mutual emergence of chaos and order etc. but the Tao Te Ching also serves as a guide for a ruler and how to manage a society as a sort of benevolent dictator.
>>2510033>Laos just seems like it'd be cool - the Socialist country people often forget about. same, i suppose the landmine situation has gotten better but i haven't heard much about landmine clearing efforts in laos as compared to cambodia
>Revolution… or its grave, anyway.picrel
>>2480632You can see Mao's body in Tiananmen. Shanghai has 2 cool museums about the communist party
>>2509290Thank you anon, very cool!
Please keep the thread up to date with where else you go and what else you find. Do you speak mandarin? Having those conversations with chinese comrades in person sounds great, but I’d imagine very few would speak English.
I also like your idea of flying to Yan'an, seems to save 10h over taking the train. Then going down to xi'an, and south/east from there.