SHAOSHAN , China ( CNN ) -- `` Mao is very great and famous , and he saved the whole of China , '' exclaims an 18-year-old woman from Wuhan in Hubei province . `` Both young people and old people love Mao very much ! '' Mao was born in his family house in 1893 . The rooms are preserved with original furnishings . The woman is accompanying her 75-year-old grandfather to Mao Zedong 's birth town of Shaoshan in Hunan province , about 100 kilometers ( 62 miles ) from the capital Changsha -- and the juxtaposition is as intriguing as it is telling : A woman born after the Tiananmen Square crackdown and a grandfather born during the Long March , joined in a pilgrimage to celebrate the founder of the 60-year-old Chinese republic . `` Great Leader , '' `` Great Teacher , '' `` Great Helmsman '' -- the monikers for Mao may be numerous , but he alone still serves as the Chinese Communist Party 's premier brand , and anyone who visits Shaoshan can still see the power of his personality cult . The village consists of numerous Mao landmarks , and it 's his house where the huge numbers of tour buses usually converge first . Born here in 1893 , Mao first lived in a large thatched-roof abode surrounded by pretty gardens and a small lake . Visitors tightly snake through the impeccably preserved rooms , marveling at the kitchen utensils and original beds that Mao and his family slept in . Take an audiovisual tour of Mao 's hometown » . There are detailed plaques throughout , outlining the family 's early years and brief descriptions of his two brothers -- both of whom were killed in warfare . Nearby is the Museum of Comrade Mao , which displays exhibits and old Communist Party photos . While visitors get a sense of the republic 's history , there are glaring omissions . While Mao the heroic revolutionary is celebrated at every step , there 's nothing on either the Great Leap Forward or the Cultural Revolution -- campaigns that cost the lives of tens of millions and caused massive social and political upheaval . ( See Fact Boxes , left ) . `` Yes , Mao made some mistakes , '' one tourist says as he studies a photo of famous revolutionary Liu Shaoqi , himself a victim of the Cultural Revolution . `` But it was for the common good . Without mistakes , how does one learn ? '' Watch visitors express their thoughts about Mao » . About 500 meters up from Mao 's house , a large bronze statue of the former leader towers over a massive square , where admirers energetically bow and pay their respects . After their backs can take no more , it 's back on to the bus for the last major tour stop , Dripping Water Cave . Watch the statue and other stops along a tour of the town » . Mao lived in this comfortable retreat briefly in 1966 , swam in its nearby reservoir and `` revised the political state of the world , '' according to one sign posted outside his bedroom . Visitors can view where the aging revolutionary slept , the sofas he sat on during important meetings , as well as his bathrooms . The path that winds back down to the main road is filled with touts , their stalls full of miniature Mao busts , caps , key rings , copies of his obligatory Little Red Book and other paraphernalia . You can even have your photo taken and enhanced digitally with Mao smoking a cigarette , or shaking his hand . A buzz surrounds the stalls ; business is good . Though visits to Shaoshan dropped off in the 1980s following a more subdued government review of Mao 's legacy , tourism is again vibrant . `` Mao is the father of modern China , but he did make some mistakes , '' explains a tour guide . `` As the government said after his death , Mao was '70 percent right , 30 percent wrong . ' So fewer visitors came during that period ... but numbers are now back to about 3 million a year . '' One of those three million enthusiastically examines the knickknacks that fill the stalls . `` My cousins back home will love this , '' beams the 18-year-old woman from Wuhan , as she holds up a T-shirt of Mao staring dotingly over the Chinese masses . `` Everyone loves Mao ! ''
Mao Min 's home town of Shaoshan is about 100 km from Changsha . Almost 3 million people a year make the pilgrimage to the former leader 's birthplace . These include his family residence and the Museum of Comrade Mao . People are in awe of Mao , though his mistakes are rarely mentioned in public .