Water Dripping Cave (Dishui Cave) is the most unusual site in Shaoshan — a complex built specifically for Mao Zedong's use during his return visit in June 1966, at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution. He stayed here for eleven days, and the facility is preserved as a museum commemorating that specific eleven-day period: the conference rooms where meetings were held, the bedroom where he slept, the table where he ate, and — according to the guides — the ping-pong table he used for recreation.
The site has an almost surreal quality: a museum dedicated not to a life or a period but to eleven days in a cave. The Cultural Revolution, which Mao launched during this visit, caused immense suffering across China; the exhibit treats these decisions with some delicacy. The natural cave itself, from which the facility takes its name from the sound of dripping water, provides a strange backdrop. The surrounding hills are pleasant for a short walk after the indoor exhibits.