The CCP CC's Organisation Department and the Ministry of Finance have named Jilin as a pilot province for the 3-year “red village” project, which aims to promote the core values of the Communist Party of China (CPC). According to the statement of the Jilin Province Finance Department, the central government has already earmarked funds to support building nine Red Villages in Jilin, though the amount hasn’t been disclosed. The purpose of such villages will be to “pass on red genes and promote revolutionary tradition.” They will also reportedly help locals “improve rural production and living facilities” and “create peaceful and beautiful homes.” The announcement about Jilin’s Red Villages comes as China gets ready for the 100th anniversary of the CCP’s founding next year. Over 100 arts and entertainment-related works espousing patriotic values, including films, TV dramas, operas, and documentaries, are scheduled for release in 2021 to commemorate the centennial.

(Comment: In China, terms like “red culture” and “red gene” typically refer to the history of the Communist Revolution. They’re applied to teaching materials with revolutionary songs, as well as books, television dramas, and other patriotic or nationalist media. In 2018, the Jiangxi province initiated plans to introduce a set of “red culture” textbooks in an effort to make students at the kindergarten, primary school, and secondary school levels “more readily accept — and become more attached to — the revolutionary tradition.”