Tourists visit the memorial hall that commemorates the site of the First National Congress of the CPC in Shanghai on July 1,2022. Photo: Qi Xijia/GT

On a sunny summer morning Friday, July 1, marking the 101st anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC), groups of CPC members solemnly reviewed the Party admission oath in front of the former site of the First National Congress of the CPC in Shanghai.

Shanghai's red tourism attractions including the memorial hall that commemorates the site of the First National Congress of the CPC reopened to the public on Friday under COVID-19 preventive measures after about a three-month closure due to the latest Omicron outbreak. 

Red tourism has become one of the top choices of many Chinese tourists in recent years, in which they would like to visit historical sites having a modern revolutionary legacy of the CPC. Many tourists chose to visit these places on the Party's anniversary to express their gratitude and respect under COVID-19 preventive measures.

Yang Qingchun, 96, rode a wheelchair to visit the memorial hall of the First National Congress of the CPC in Shanghai with the help of his family. Yang has been a CPC member since 1949. He stood up from his wheelchair and retook the Party admission oath in front of the Party flag.

Looking back on the extraordinary journey of the Party, Yang, also a veteran of the War of Liberation (1946-49), told the Global Times, "Now the Chinese people of all ethnic groups can hold their heads high, no one dares to bully us and we do not bully anyone. Our friends are all over the world."

Speaking on the country's development, the 96-year-old's eyes were filled with pride over the achievements made by the country. "Now we are able to reach the moon in the sky or a turtle in the deep ocean. That's something many other countries incapable of doing, and we made it," Yang said.

When it comes to the expectations of future generations, Yang hopes young people can keep studying, love the motherland and take a broad view of the world.

In the memorial hall, the Global Times reporter noticed that there were many senior people like Yang who proudly wore the commemorative medal for their services in the Party for 50 years as well as youngsters who just began their summer vacation and came with their parents to study the history and achievements of the Party.

As the epidemic starts to wind down in some major cities including Beijing and Shanghai, China has removed the asterisk on the travel code of visitors of COVID risk areas and some cities continued to improve epidemic prevention policies, which also helped boost red tourism. 

The key words search of "red tourism" climbed, with red education bases, former residences of Party celebrities, and memorial halls being the three red tourist attractions with the most attention of young tourists and parent-child visitors, according to YNET.com, citing data from Chinese travel service and social networking platform Mafengwo.

South China's Guangzhou, Southwest China's Chongqing, Northwest China's Yan'an and East China's Nanjing are among the top red tourist attraction cities searched by visitors recently, according to the report.

Since June, the red tourism has started to boom, and the number of bookings for summer red tourist attractions through Trip.com has increased five times compared to the previous month, according to the latest report on red tourism in the first half year by Trip.com.

In terms of the age of tourists in the red scenic spots, they are mainly post-80s and 90s, accounting for 41 percent and 26 percent, respectively, said the report.

In Yan'an, Shaanxi Province, a former revolutionary base of the CPC, a working staff of a revolutionary memorial hall confirmed with the Global Times on Friday that about 200 people visited the memorial hall on Friday, with 90 percent of them being young and middle-aged Party members.

Fu Xiangdong, a 68-year-old volunteer with the Shanghai memorial hall that commemorates the site of the First National Congress of the CPC, told the Global Times on Friday that he was touched by the scene that all the old, the middle-aged, and the young generation are faithful to the Party and follow it wholeheartedly.

As a CPC member, it was Fu's fifth time to serve as the volunteer in the hall on July 1. "July 1 is like a collaborative birthday to all Party members. So whenever I have the chance, I come to volunteer in the birthplace."