Nanjie, Communism is back

As the rest of China struggles with mounting social problems brought on by two decades of economic reforms, Najie, a village of 3.000 in central Henan province has chosen to go back to the old times. In the era of market and privatiziation, it has found its fortune in restoring the stern rules of maoism. The workers of the locals factories are guaranteed a lifelong healthcare and a small house but their salaries do not reach 30 dollars a month. Communism is the official ideology and an...
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As the rest of China struggles with mounting social problems brought on by two decades of economic reforms, Najie, a village of 3.000 in central Henan province has chosen to go back to the old times. In the era of market and privatiziation, it has found its fortune in restoring the stern rules of maoism. The workers of the locals factories are guaranteed a lifelong healthcare and a small house but their salaries do not reach 30 dollars a month. Communism is the official ideology and an onnipresent Chairman Mao remains the presiding deity. A three-story-high statue of the Chairman dominate the square surrounded by giant portraits of the socialist stars Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin. Fancy restaurants, karaoke bars, music clubs, and mahjongg are all forbidden, but the real secret to its collective well-being is capitalist: two dozen village enterprises manufacture all sorts of things - noodles, beer, pharmaceuticals - and a local tour operator is succesfully promoting 'red tourism'..Chinese workers in the printing factory, one of the 26 village-run enterprises...
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