Meister der Farbe » nding me of dramatic funeral practices in rural Ch

The GT reporter stands in front of the Shaoshan train station in Shaoshan Cowboys Jaylon Smith Jersey , Hunan Province. Photo: Li HaoGT


Two visitors kneel as they show their respects to Mao at the Mao Zedong Bronze Statue Square in Shaoshan on September 8. Photo: Li HaoGT


Editor's Note: This year the In-Depth team traveled the world to report news from where it was happening. Today we'd like to share with you the experiences of two reporters who visited scenes of conflict - both physical and ideological - and wrote about how locals are dealing with the changes transforming Chinese society.


Columns of Red Army soldiers and Red Guards holding up signs emblazoned with Chairman Mao's face marched behind two Mao impersonators who led the procession, arms linked. A woman in her 50s, who had tied up her hair into two ponytails and wore a Red Guard uniform, danced energetically to revolutionary songs in the background, with an ecstatic smile on her face. For a moment, I wondered if I had stumbled into a Red China-themed costume party.


It was September Cowboys Xavier Woods Jersey , and I was in the Mao Zedong Bronze Statue Square in Shaoshan, Mao's birthplace, to cover the 40th anniversary of his death. Before I arrived, I was expecting a sad, solemn occasion on the square, which is traditionally used by Maoists as an open-air memorial during his anniversaries. And yet in reality Cowboys Jourdan Lewis Jersey , it was more like a throwback to the days of his leadership, with a lot enthusiasm and noise.


Many people who came to commemorate Mao are farmers and workers, people who feel left behind by the rapid economic growth that followed the reform and opening-up. This is why there were a lot of rural elements displayed on this day of mourning - one countryman cried so hard that he collapsed on the ground before the statue of Mao, reminding me of dramatic funeral practices in rural China. Another man paid 50,000 yuan ($7,190) to hire a local lion dance troupe to mark the occasion Cowboys Chidobe Awuzie Jersey , and the effect was almost comical when the man, dressed in an ostentatious white suit, approached the square followed by a progression of dragon-holding dancers.


I saw a chaotic mixture of personality cult and religion. One man in his 60s named Ma Zhi'an told me today's China needs Maoism to reduce growing inequality. I was about to label him mentally as a typical follower of Mao before he showed me pictures of himself photoshopped against the tacky background of a lotus seat and began to talk about reincarnations. It turned out that he was a member of a rural folk religion and Mao Zedong is one of the "gods" he worships. Not far away from him, several Buddhist monks and nuns wearing Mao badges joined a group of former soldiers, and together they sang a chorus of "The East is Red."


Midnight was approaching, but some diehards held their ground Cowboys Taco Charlton Jersey , and I met a teacher from Changsha, Hunan who was waiting for the specific moment when Mao stopped breathing 40 years ago, a few minutes past 12 o'clock, when she planned to spray baijiu (China's favorite hard liquor) on the ground as her unique way of mourning. She said Mao shouldn't bear the blame of starting the Cultural Revolution