Tourists take the Nanhu Lake 1921 red-themed tourist train from Shanghai to Jiaxing on March 1, 2023. Photo: Lu Ting/Global Times

When passenger Tan Yongmin gets on the train, he is impressed by what he sees in the carriage: Old photos from the 20th century hang on the walls, books telling the history and spirit of the Communist Party of China (CPC) are neatly placed in glass cabinets, and there is even a mailbox on the desk by a window.

As he takes a seat, he sees many passengers around him wave small Chinese national flags in their hands. They chat and laugh, filling the carriage with a joyful and exciting atmosphere.

The train Tan took on Wednesday was a red-themed tourist train from Shanghai to Jiaxing, East China's Zhejiang Province. In 1921, CPC forerunners held the Party's first National Congress in Shanghai and Jiaxing, making them important witnesses of the CPC's early development and very popular red tourism destinations today.

Wednesday marked the train's first run after being suspended for months due to the pandemic. 

"I very much like this trip," Tan told the Global Times on the train on Wednesday. "Taking the train enables me to relive a glorious early history of the Party in an interesting way."

Tourists take the Nanhu Lake 1921 red-themed tourist train from Shanghai to Jiaxing on March 1, 2023. Photo: Lu Ting/Global Times

Reliving the past

This red-themed tourist train debuted in June 2021 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC. Commuting between Shanghai and Jiaxing every day, it was the first regular-operating red tourist train in East China.

Named Nanhu Lake 1921, the train transported nearly 40,000 passengers before suspending operations in November 2022 due to COVID-19, operator China Railway Shanghai Group told the Global Times. 

With the gradual recovery of tourism in China, the train resumed operations on Wednesday.

On the train, the first two carriages were well decorated with red-themed elements, including books and photos showing CPC history. 

There was also a small "railway post office" on the train where passengers could get their letters or postcards stamped with red-themed postmarks specifically designed for the train.

Under the threat of reactionaries, the Party secretly held its first National Congress in the summer of 1921 in Shanghai. Harassed in the middle of the congress' sixth plenary session, the delegates moved to a boat on Nanhu Lake in Jiaxing to continue their meeting. It was there that the founding of the CPC was announced.

The determination, wisdom and courage of the CPC revolutionary pioneers who worked hard to explore way to save the Chinese from weakness and poverty were later dubbed the "Red Boat Spirit." The boat where delegates held the first congress in Jiaxing was hailed as the Red Boat.

The sites of the first National Congress of the CPC - the buildings in Shanghai and the boat in Jiaxing - are one of China's most important red tourism resources, a tourism expert told the Global Times.

Sharing the same theme, the two sites should not be separated by administrative regions, the expert said.

"Therefore, linking the two places with a themed tourist train is not only a creative way of showing the Red Boat Spirit, but also a good attempt to explore the cross-regional development of red tourism, especially when there are no COVID-19 travel limits now," the expert told the Global Times.

Red Boat, the memorial boat of the first National Congress of the CPC Photo: VCG

An immersive trip

Red tourism has been growing in popularity in the past few years. To attract more tourists, particularly young ones, red-themed scenic spots are putting in the effort to make visiting experiences interesting and diverse.

So that passengers can feel what it was like for Party delegates when they left Shanghai for Jiaxing to continue the first Congress, the Nanhu Lake 1921 train is set to depart Shanghai at 8:45 am and arrive in ­Jiaxing at 10:19. 

"Almost the same time that the delegates took the train from Shanghai to Jiaxing a century ago," said Xu Yan of Jiaxing Nanhu Hongyuan Culture, which works with the Shanghai railway on the train project.

Moreover, for passengers who plan to visit the Red Boat in Jiaxing, Xu and her coworkers have designed a tour route that follows in the footsteps of the delegates.

"Get off the train at Jiaxing Station, walk to the Shizihui ferry, and then take a boat to the Red Boat anchored in the middle of Nanhu Lake. Tourists can experience the entire journey," Xu told the Global Times.

The route excited the tourists on the Wednesday train. 

"I've booked a ticket for the boat to the Red Boat," said Tan. 

A Party member himself, Tan praised the train for offering him an immersive and interesting trip. 

"I will share it with my Party ­member friends and neighbors," he said.