Shaoshan (Hunan Sheng, China)

Shaoshan (Chinese: 韶山; pinyin: Sháoshān) is a county-level city in Hunan Province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Xiangtan. Qingxi Town is its seat. Located on the mid-eastern Hunan and the mid-north of Xiangtan, Shaoshan is bordered by Ningxiang County to the north, Xiangxiang City to the west and southwest, Xiangtan County to the east and southeast. It covers an area of 247.3 km2 (95.5 sq mi), as of 2015, it has a census registered population of 118,236 and a permanent resident population of 97,800. It is the smallest administrative unit by size or by population in the counties and county-level cities in Hunan province. As the birthplace of Mao Zedong, the founder of the People's Republic of China, Shaoshan was an important base during the Chinese Communist Revolution. Mao remains a popular figure in the area, and red tourism to Shaoshan and other places related to China's communist background has driven the local economy, while increasing people's understanding of China's revolutionary history.