(SkyNews) More than $2.5bn (£1.6bn) is being spent on events to mark the 120th anniversary of the birth of Mao Zedong, to the fury of many Chinese citizens.
The money is being directed towards Mao’s birthplace of Shaoshan, where a tourist information centre will be renovated and his former residence restored, according to the Changsha Evening News.
High-speed rail stations and new highways will also be built to impress the expected influx of visitors.
Authorities in Xiangtan, which includes Shaoshan, defended the spending plans, telling China’s Global Times newspaper that the commemoration’s importance “overrides any other at the moment”.