More than 1,000 Chinese people reenacted the battle of Lau Son Pass

Dressed in Red Army uniforms and carrying simulated weapons, tourists volunteered to climb a hill at Loushan Pass in Zunyi City, Guizhou Province. The effect of fireworks continuously erupting on the mountainside, recreating the battle between the Red Army and the Nationalist Party in 1935, AFP describe.

“It’s really overwhelming, I feel like I’m in the middle of a battlefield,” said tourist Giang Quan, 40 years old. Mr. Giang was one of more than 1,000 people who visited Tuan Nghia last weekend to re-enact the battle of Lau Son Pass. “I experienced a bit of what the soldiers had to go through.”

Tran Muc Duong, a 30-year-old tourist, decided to participate in the experience after standing and watching in the spectator area and shared similar feelings.

“The gun was heavier than I thought,” Ms. Tran said Global Times. “I immediately fell into the atmosphere there.”

Ms. Tran said the real immersion begins when the “commander”, in charge of the actor, appears and details safety rules and travel routes. The group of tourists then walked along the mountain trail, amid heavy gunfire emitted in all directions.

Tourists are divided into two groups and move along different routes to enter the battlefield area. The gunfire became more and more intense, simulated explosions continuously rang out right below our feet, and thick smoke limited visibility.

“You knew there was going to be a ‘battle’, but you didn’t know when. That waiting was really stressful,” Tran said, adding that the 40-minute experience left a deeper impression than any history book she had ever read.

The reenactment is part of the “red tourism” development strategy that Beijing has pursued for decades. This type of tourism is aimed at those who want to learn about history and takes tourists to places associated with the development of the Communist Party of China.

Theo China Militarythe official news site of the People’s Liberation Army of China, the Battle of Laushan Pass, which took place on February 25-27, 1935, was the Red Army’s first major victory in the Long March against the Nationalist army.

The project recreating this battle suddenly became a phenomenon on Chinese social networking platforms. On Douyin, videos recording tourists volunteering often attract tens of thousands of likes.

During the peak season, thousands of tourists come to participate in this activity every day, said Dieu Dich Hoa, operations director of the tourist area management unit. Participants are diverse, from young people, families with young children, middle-aged and elderly people nostalgic for the past, to businesses.