This attraction introduction is compiled from historical materials in the "Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network" (33519.com · Scenic Spots section). Ticket prices, opening hours, transportation, and contact information mentioned in the text may be outdated. Please refer to the latest official announcements from the scenic area before traveling; some content consists of historical background/cultural introductions and is for reference only.
The Mao Zedong Poetry Stele Forest is located halfway up Shaoshan Peak, 4 kilometers from Mao Zedong's former residence. Construction began in 1991, and it officially opened to the public in 1993. It covers a total area of about 20,000 square meters. The garden consists of 100 steles made of white marble, marble, granite, and other materials, featuring 100 of Mao Zedong's poems, commemorating the 100th anniversary of Chairman Mao's birth. The entire scenic garden is divided into 5 parts according to Mao Zedong's revolutionary career and into 4 periods according to chronological order:
The first area features poems written by Mao Zedong in his youth.
The second area covers the Great Revolution and the Second Revolutionary Civil War period.
The third area covers the Red Army Long March, the War of Resistance Against Japan, and the War of Liberation period.
The fourth area features Mao Zedong's poems after the founding of New China.
The poetry steles in the garden have varied shapes and infinite variations. They highlight the simple, unadorned traditional characteristics while also pursuing novelty, distinctiveness, and bold variation, making the poetry steles blend seamlessly with the natural beauty of Shaoshan Peak, leaving viewers lingering and reluctant to leave.
At the exit of the stele forest stands a huge poetry stele inscribed with a poem Mao Zedong wrote at Shaoshan on June 26, 1959, titled "Seven-Character Regulated Verse: To Shaoshan." This stele is 12.26 meters wide, 8.3 meters high, and 0.99 meters thick, symbolizing his birth date, birthday, and date of death.
The overall characteristic of the Mao Zedong Poetry Stele Forest is its emphasis on "creating atmosphere" and "originality," with a harmonious balance of movement and stillness and a mutual enhancement of poetry and scenery. Each poem is a scene, and each scene is a poem, adding a unique highlight to Shaoshan and at all times letting visiting tourists feel the heroic spirit revealed in Chairman Mao's poetry.
