Red tourism nourishes spirit and economy

China's fast economic growth over the past 40 years, and particularly the poverty alleviation project between 2012-20, have delivered great changes in these remote places.

As roads connect to hamlets, the inflow of tourists to explore the "hidden pearls" of battle and conference sites in the mountains has brought with it not only money, but knowledge and opportunities for farmers to see the outside world.

In Xiaohe township of Hanzhong, Shaanxi province, where the Red Army held its Xiaohekou Conference to correct its commanders' left-leaning adventurism in 1932, local villagers have felt the difference history can make to their lives. A memorial hall of the meeting opened five years ago. Since then, the small town has received about 106,000 visits from civil servants and Party members from across the country. As well as this, large numbers of individual backpackers have been pulled in by the history.

Thanks to the tourism museum and the assistance of local governments, all 1,100 residents have been lifted out of poverty. The basic infrastructural facilities and public services have been improved tremendously, said Liu Gang, Party secretary of the township.

"The farmers insist their new houses should be built with red tiles and the outer wall should be painted earthy yellow," said Liu. "The red stands for the Red Army and the earthy yellow represents the villagers' memory of the shabby adobe houses built with mud and straw that locals used to live in for generations."

Farmers there plant herbal medicines, grow mushrooms in greenhouses, and raise chickens, bees and pigs. The husbandry is not only popular among the travelers but also in nearby cities, becoming a reliable source of revenue for locals.