XIZHOU
History
Silk Road Merchants (114 BCE-1450s CE)
During the Silk Road (around 114 BCE- 1450s CE), the area of Xizhou back then was home to many wealthy merchants and traders who got their fortune from trading their products with various villages, allowing their products to eventually make their way into the Southern Silk Road. Their wealth was what allowed them to start constructing the grand homes styled like the homes in Xizhou today, with the grand courtyard and multiple rooms.
World War II (1939-1945)
During World War II Xizhou served home to the radar base of the American Flying Tigers soldiers. The radar tower helped guide warplanes across the Cang mountains to prevent them from flying and crashing into the steep hills and cliffs when flying at night. The base of the Flying Tigers can still be seen today when walking out of Xizhou towards the North on the right side of the road. The base has a monument to commemorate the Flying Tigers.
The Cultural Revolution (1966-1976)
The Cultural Revolution movement occurred during 1966 all the way to 1976 after Mao's return to power after the Great Leap Forward (1958-1962) and was aimed to preserve communist ideology and culture, replacing the traditional culture of China from the past. This movement encouraged the younger generation of the people in Xizhou to vandalize old art and replace it with communist propaganda and art that praised Chairman Mao. Evidence of vandalization from the Cultural Revolution can be seen throughout Xizhou today on the artwork that lines the entrances and walls of many homes, with a few paintings and inscriptions left untouched. Propaganda messages can also still be seen on walls around the village that promote different messages, and even text that praises Chairman Mao can be found on some doorways of the old homes.
Mao's Death (1976)
The death of Chairman Mao initiated a day of mourning in the village. The elders in the village still have memories of fireworks and firecrackers being set off in the evening, while many residents cried and mourned for his death. It struck the Xizhou community quite hard and saddened the whole village. Many of the elders today will talk about how Chairman Mao was a great man and had great ideas for China, and remember everything that happened during the time he was in office.
Vandalized artwork with scratch marks on an entrance of a home in Xizhou.
The Great Leap Forward (1958-1962)
As Chairman Mao rose into power during the 1900s, Xizhou was also affected by many of the reforms and campaigns conducted during the time. For example, the Great Leap Forward during the year of 1958-1962 resulted in a scarcity of food because of all the rice the government collected. Because the farmers had claimed to have grown more rice than they actually were capable of in reality, the government, without knowing, took the exact amount needed, without knowing that the claimed amount was not accurate and that it resulted in a famine among the people. Memories can be recalled from many elders in the community of not having much access to meat, and sometimes they were even forced to eat wild grass because of the lack of proper vegetables and rice.
Tip: Try looking for some of the artwork or propaganda messages in Xizhou! The vandalized artwork is normally found on entrances of a home, while propaganda messages are written in red paint (but faded by now) on walls of the many buildings.
Sources
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