Mao Zedong's 50th Death Anniversary Commemorated in Shaoshan, China

SHAOSHAN: Fifty years after his death, diehard fans of the Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong lined up Wednesday in his hometown to pay homage, holding portraits, flags and huge floral tributes. Chairman Mao, the founder of the People's Republic, died on September 9, 1976, and his life and legacy was being commemorated fervently this week by those who still revere him as a visionary leader. As China grapples with a slowing economy, nostalgia is growing for Mao's egalitarian ideals, but his drastic policies are also blamed by historians for mass starvation and millions of deaths. Tourists -- many of them university students -- laid chrysanthemum wreaths, bottles of Chinese alcohol, and cigarettes at the foot of a 10-metre-tall (32.8 feet) bronze statue of Mao in the main square in Shaoshan, in central Hunan province. Hundreds of visitors lined up in carefully organised queues to bow solemnly and observe a few seconds of silence, while others posed for photos in front of the statue.