The Memorial Hall of the Advance Division of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army presents an imposing facade in Wangcunkou town. [Photo/lsnews.com.cn]

These days Wangcunkou town in East China's Zhejiang province is clearly going places in terms of its flourishing Red tourism.

The town – situated in Suichang county, administered by Lishui city – has a raft of key sights of historical importance, stretching back to the time when it was an strategic stronghold in southwest Zhejiang during Emperor Kangxi's reign (1661-1722) in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

In 1935, the Advance Division of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army led by commanders Liu Ying and Su Yu opened up a guerrilla base in southwest Zhejiang with Wangcunkou town as the center.

Not unnaturally, that bequeathed a large number of revolutionary tourist resources in the area and the town is now home to the Memorial Hall of the Advance Division of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, the Memorial Hall of Liu Ying and Su Yu and the Memorial Hall of Suichang People's Rescue of American Pilots, among other red tourism sites.

Red tourism has since become an important driver of the town's economic development. In recent years, it has focused on the integrated development of its red and historical resources, aiming to create the most distinctive red tourism town in Zhejiang.

In 2020, Wangcunkou town received a total of about 200,000 tourists and generated tourism income of about 25 million yuan ($3.9 million).