Mao Zedong Built His Villa During Great Famine | China Truths

Welcome to China Truths. In this episode, we will bring you the following story. Mao Zedong Built His Villa During Great Famine. Now, let's dive into the details. It's all covered in today's China Truths. Mao Zedong Built His Villa During Great Famine. From 1959 to 1961, the Great Leap Forward initiated by the CCP led to a nationwide famine that lasted three years, during which millions of people died from starvation. At one point, corpses filled the fields, and there were even reports of cannibalism. Nearly 40 million people perished. However, what the 700 million Chinese citizens could not have imagined at the time, as they sang praises of the Red Sun, Mao, was that Mao was quietly constructing a new villa for himself back in his hometown. In 1960, Mao Zedong personally instructed the construction of the Doshuike Villa. Some estimates suggest the construction cost over 3.55 million yuan at the time, not including building materials, labor costs, or the expense of constructing roads and other infrastructure. Other estimates place the actual cost at around 100 million yuan. However, from the villa's completion until Mao's death 14 years later, he only stayed there for 10 nights. Even excluding operational, maintenance, and security expenses, if we calculate the cost of one night's stay in the villa based on the currency value of the 1960s, it would amount to approximately 10 million yuan per night, making it the world's most expensive bed. So, what did this bed look like? And what did it mean to Mao? In this episode, we will talk about the Doshuike Villa. Mao Zedong instructed the secretary of the Hunan Provincial Committee twice to build a villa for him. An article published by the Party History Monthly revealed that in June 1959, after Mao returned to his hometown and swam in the Xiaoshan Reservoir, he suggested to Zhou Xiaoshou, the accompanying secretary of the Hunan Provincial Committee, that a straw hut should be built in Doshuike Cave for his retirement. In May 1960, Mao visited Hunan again and mentioned to the newly appointed secretary of the Provincial Committee, Zhang Pinghua, that the Doshuike Cave in Xiaoshan would be a great location to build a house. Given Mao's position, what kind of straw hut or house could possibly accommodate him? Therefore, the suggestion of building a straw hut or house was transformed into a large-scale, time-consuming, and highly secretive national project. In the second half of 1960, the Doshuike Cave Villa project, codenamed 203, was secretly initiated. The entire project was kept strictly confidential, and the construction was entrusted to the People's Liberation Army's engineering troops. Due to strict secrecy measures, even the locals were unaware of the project. After more than two years of construction, the Doshuike Cave Villa was largely completed by The main structure consisted of three buildings, with Building No. 1 exclusively for Mao Zedong. This building included an office, bedroom, conference room, and other areas where Mao would work and live. It was a Soviet-style T-shaped bungalow made of green bricks, with enclosed corridors on both sides. The design blended both western and eastern elements, making it warm in winter and cool in summer, while being easy to secure. Building No. 1 was the core of the entire project, closely resembling Mao's residence in Xiongnanhai. In 1970, a 100-meter-long bomb shelter was constructed behind Building No. 1. The shelter stored supplies and daily necessities. Additionally, there were military facilities such as an earthquake-resistant room and a command center. Two-ton lead and iron doors were installed at both ends of the shelter to withstand a certain level of atomic bomb explosions. Building No. 2 consisted of 24 rooms and was intended for central officials who accompanied Mao. It was located adjacent to Building No. 1. Building No. 3, located over 100 meters from the other two, was for the security staff and other personnel. The construction team also built a road from Mao's former residence to Doshuike Cave. In 1970, the Doshuike Cave Villa was expanded, and air conditioning was installed. At that time, Wang Dongxing, director of the central office, took Mao's lifestyle preferences into account when designing new bedrooms and bathrooms. From June 18 to June 28, 1966, Mao Zedong secluded himself at the Doshuike Cave Villa for 10 nights and 11 days. During this time, Mao walked along the corridors of Building No. 1, looking around and admiring the surrounding mountains, expressing satisfaction. The only central official who knew Mao's whereabouts was Zhou Enlai, the prime minister. Zhou would send documents to Mao via a special plane from Beijing, which would then be delivered by car from Changsha to Xiaoshan for Mao's review. During Mao's stay, his inner security was managed by the 8341 unit, led by Zhang Yaoqi, while the outer perimeter was guarded by the Hunan Provincial Public Security Bureau. In the book Zhang Yaoqi's Recollections of Mao Zedong, Zhang recalled that while Mao stayed at Doshuike Cave, he did not meet anyone. Aside from handling documents, reading books, and reading newspapers, Mao spent most of his time thinking. No one dared to disturb him. Mao once asked Zhang to check whether swimming was possible in the nearby Youth Lake, which was clear and a great place for swimming. However, at the time, Mao was overwhelmed by the disastrous effects of the Great Leap Forward, and had no time to relax and swim. During the 11 days, Mao's only outing was a wheelchair ride accompanied by others, which took him only 300 meters. Before leaving, Mao said, take good care of the house. I'll come back. During his stay at the villa, there were no reports about Mao's activities, and later newspaper reports obscured his exact location. Foreign intelligence agencies also failed to discover where he went. According to an article in Hubei Literature and History titled Mao Zedong in Xiaoshan's Doshuike Cave, on the afternoon of June 17, a few young girls were collecting pigweed near Doshuike Cave. One girl recognized Mao. After returning home, the girl reported this to her father, Mao Qishan. That evening, personnel from the Hunan Provincial Public Security Bureau arrived at Mao Qishan's house and clarified that Mao Zedong was in Beijing, while it was actually Li Chang, the head of the Public Security Bureau, who had been at Doshuike Cave in the afternoon. This ensured that news of Mao's return to Xiaoshan did not leak out. In June 1976, Mao, severely ill and nostalgic for his hometown, insisted on returning to the Doshuike Cave villa to recuperate, though his request was not approved by the Central Committee. In September, after his condition slightly improved, Mao reiterated his desire to return to Xiaoshan. After much persistence, the Politburo finally agreed to allow Mao to go back to Doshuike Cave on September 15. However, Mao did not live to see that day. On September 8, 1976, Mao passed away. According to the article The Last 24 Hours of Mao Zedong's On the morning of September 8, Liao Shiyu, the manager of Doshuike Cave, received a phone call from the provincial party office informing him that the secretary of the Hunan Provincial Committee, Zhang Pinghua, was planning to visit Doshuike Cave later that evening. Liao gathered the staff to prepare for Zhang's visit, but at around 11 p.m., he received a call informing him that Zhang would not be coming. Less than two hours later, Mao died in Beijing, marking the end of his time at Doshuike Cave. Mao's desire to return to Doshuike Cave during his final days highlights the CCP's rampant abuse of power, financial waste, and disregard for the suffering of the people. Abuse of power, Mao's instructions to build a villa were never openly discussed with the Hunan provincial leaders. Mao knew that such an extravagant project during a time of national famine would not be sanctioned. The project was a clear misuse of power, carried out without any legal or party authorization. Financial waste, regardless of the exact cost, the Doshuike Cave Villa was an enormous financial burden during a time when China was suffering from a famine. The funds that went into building this villa could have saved millions of lives. Disregard for people's life and welfare, the money used to build Doshuike Cave came primarily from the provincial budget of Hunan, a region that was suffering terribly from the famine. While millions of people were starving to death, Mao's lavish villa was being constructed at the expense of the people's life and well-being. Most of Mao's residences were constructed around the time of the Great Famine, which occurred in the aftermath of the Great Leap Forward. Some of the other villas built in the late 1950s and early 1960s include Lushan Lulan No. 1 Villa, built between 1960 and 1961 for Mao's stays at Lushan. Miling No. 1 Villa at Donghu Hotel in Wuhan, one of Mao's longest residences outside of Zhongnanhai. Shanghai West Suburb Guesthouse, built for Mao's visits to Shanghai, with only a few days of use. Jinan South Suburb Guesthouse, built for Mao's residence in Shandong, covering 1160 acres. These projects were undertaken during a time when the Great Famine had already caused the The funds used for these villas could have saved countless lives.