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Bring It Back: Maoist Kitsch from Beijing

TIME : 2016/2/29 16:00:26
Bring It Back: Maoist Kitsch from Beijing Davies + Starr A shoe box-sized porcelain rendering of Chairman Mao and his defense minister, Lin Biao (who allegedly once attempted to assassinate his boss). Cultural Revolution kitsch

The Cultural Revolution's national ideology—fortunately—has gone the way of the Little Red Book, but the distinct style that emerged out of China's heyday of state-issued propaganda is back by popular demand, at the five-room Red Capital Residence hotel in Beijing. In the gift shop, nostalgia-hunters can pick up the ultimate in retro-camp agitprop. Our favorite item was this shoe box–sized porcelain rendering of Chairman Mao and his defense minister, Lin Biao (who allegedly once attempted to assassinate his boss). The two soak up the adulation of their comrades while riding in the backseat of a Red Flag Limo. Red Capital Residence, No. 9 Dongsi Liutiao, Dongcheng district, Beijing; 86-10/8403-5308; www.redcapitalclub.com.cn; from $74 each.