Red Tourism and Sino-Japanese War Reenactors, Online Reactions

From QQ:

“Devil Soldiers” of the Red Tourism Scenic Area

In Wuxiang Shanxi, there are a group of grassroots actors doing relatively realistic portrayal of the Second Sino-Japanese War every single day. Without the use of absurd dialogues, amazing martial arts, or even attractive women, they were still able to move the audience to tears. Because their portrayal is so realistic, often times the “devils” and the “translator” [collaborators] were beaten up by the tourists. Reporters recently visited these grassroots actors to unravel how these “devils” [derogatory term for Japanese soldiers] and “translators” live their two-faced lives onstage and offstage. With every showing of the show Anti-extermination, the “devil” played by Yang Lei must be killed by an “Eighth Route Army” soldier. In the past four years he has already “died” over 6,000 times.

Yang Lei using a marker to draw his mustache before going on stage.

Liu Chuan was initially cast as an “Eighth Route Army” soldier, but as soon as he donned the uniform, the director decided he was the perfect choice to play the “devil”.

Liu Chuan plays a “devil” motorcycle rider in Anti-extermination, he must ride his bike to jump over a 2 meter tall wall. He is the only stunts actor in the entire acting troupe.

April 6th, the last day of the Qingming Festival, many tourists arrived to watch Anti-extermination.

A scene in Anti-extermination enters its climax when the “devil officer” played by Yang Lei kills a Chinese villager. Also at this very moment, he was bombarded by plastic bottles and shoes from the audience.

After the performance, the entire cast thank the audience. The audience also gathered around the stage, not wanting to leave.

After the show during the day was over, Yang Lei (right) and Liu Chuan (left) starts to rehearse for the show Taihang Guerrilla Force.

Apart from playing the “devil officer”, Yang Lei as the troupe leader often directs other actors.

The real-life Yang Lei and Liu Chuan enjoys playing mobile games with their friends online.

As the landmark structure in the old Sino-Japanese War battleground in Wuxiang, there are two rifle statues at the gate of the Eighth Route Army Cultural Park.

Comments on QQ:

海纳百川:

Chinese people can never face true history. The Japanese army at the time was five times more powerful than the Chinese army. We won because of attrition and America’s nuclear bomb! Today’s absurd dramas are retarded, distorting history to mislead the audience, it never show the true brutality of war! In a hard won victory, only when we face up to history can we move in the right direction forward.

爆棚的番茄酱:

Really, these actors playing antagonists should be paid more than those playing protagonists.

记忆花园:

An absurd show that deceive not just ourselves but others as well. What would the children think, if they [Japanese] are so retarded why did it take over 8 years to fight the devils.

ლ(´ε`ლ) /qq:

Fuck, fighting devils everyday, what else do you know besides fighting devils.

苍狼:

So laughable.

☞⑩偶，娶倪！☜:

Can I ask the writer. Before the liberation did China have off-road motorcycles?

雲0o少爷o:

History is written by the victors. No matter what reason, China won, so the winner is always right and the loser always wrong.

嗳不起de`情:

In reality they are only entertaining themselves or just entertaining audiences who do not understand history!

春华秋月:

In the eyes of our future generations, the devils were not defeated by the Eighth Route Army or the New Fourth Army, instead they were wiped out by the Chinese entertainment industry.