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.

People gather to pay tribute to late Communist leader Mao Zedong at the Bronze Statue Square in Shaoshan, China's central Hunan province on September 8, 2026, a day before the 50th anniversary of his death. Photo: Hector Retamal / AFP.
People gather to pay tribute to late Communist leader Mao Zedong at the Bronze Statue Square in Shaoshan, China’s central Hunan province on September 8, 2026, a day before the 50th anniversary of his death. 

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 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.

Watchful police stopped people from lingering too long.

People pay tribute to late Communist leader Mao Zedong at the Mao Zedong Bronze Statue Square in Shaoshan, China's central Hunan province on September 9, 2026, during the 50th anniversary of his death. Photo: by Hector Retamal/AFP.
People pay tribute to late Communist leader Mao Zedong at the Mao Zedong Bronze Statue Square in Shaoshan, China’s central Hunan province on September 9, 2026, during the 50th anniversary of his death. 

Deng, a 28-year-old tourist, told AFP that he had “been influenced” by Mao’s spirit and had great respect for him.