Summer Vacation Trip to Jinggangshan

Reflections on Traveling in Jinggangshan
-----The Influence of the Red Spirit and a Slight Disappointment with the Commercial Atmosphere
On August 24, 2025, stepping onto the land of Jinggangshan, a sense of solemnity and reverence welled up in my heart. Every mountain, every road, every stone tablet here seems to quietly tell the magnificent revolutionary history. In the afternoon, visiting the Revolutionary Museum in Ciping, the precious historical photos and weathered revolutionary relics silently narrated those arduous years. Definitely worth a visit, but note it’s closed on Mondays. In the evening, I went to Chairman Mao’s Former Residence and stayed at Wenyuan Hotel, which was affordable and had great service. I lost a bracelet there, and the staff returned it to me. Dinner was also decent. In the middle of the trip, I got ripped off when my car’s oil warning light came on. The repair shop below the hotel just added a little oil and charged 380 yuan. Later, in Jinggangshan city, they didn’t even know what kind of oil it was. The key issue was no real service. I ended up getting a Shell oil change and maintenance in the city for only 350 yuan with excellent service.

On the morning of August 25, I drove up Huangyangjie, as if I could still hear the booming artillery from the defense battle back then. The winding mountain roads and steep cliffs were the battlegrounds where Red Army soldiers fought fiercely. Standing in front of the monument, looking out at the endless mountains shrouded in mist, I deeply felt the heroic spirit of "a single spark can start a prairie fire." It’s a must to drive up once.
On the morning of August 25, I went into Dajing. Those simple thatched huts and adobe houses with a wooden table, an oil lamp, and a few benches were the places where they strategized and directed the revolution. I stayed at Xijiangyue, which had great service and a decent environment, though some rooms were a bit small. However, a farmhouse restaurant opposite the hotel was a rip-off: a medium bottle of Coke was 18 yuan, sweat... Red rice was 10 yuan for a small bamboo bucket. A small tip: ask the price before ordering to avoid being overcharged.
In the afternoon of August 25, I visited the old site of the Xiaojing Red Army Hospital, which was quite heavy-hearted. Then I went to Longtan Scenic Spot, walked down, and took the cable car back. This spot is a must-visit; compared to the red revolutionary sites, this rare natural scenic area also bears traces of the revolution. In the evening, I went to nearby Xiaojing, but I was a few minutes late. The staff locked the back door like thieves, haha. Even after showing a full ticket, they hurriedly closed for the day. The sunset over Jinggangshan was still magnificent then. So it was a bit of a regret, and later I gave up on this red site due to lack of time.

On August 26, I went to the Revolutionary Martyrs’ Cemetery. Since there were few people, I just paid my respects from below, then went to Torch Square. It’s worth climbing; I also visited the museum again. Hehe. Checked out and left Jinggangshan at noon.

This long-awaited trip to Jinggangshan was bittersweet; the joys were the revolutionary spirit, red history knowledge, tourist attractions, and hotels. The worries were the excessive commercialization and tourist scams, which can’t compare to Shaoshan Chong, diminishing the travel experience. Overall, I would still visit Jinggangshan again if I have the chance.

Post by ExplorerEssence | Sep 10, 2025