As Xi Rises, the Cult of Mao Lives On

As Xi Jinping leads China into a new era of personality-driven rule, they're still making statues of the country's last Great Helmsman — Mao Zedong.

Effigies of Mao used to take pride of place in almost every village square and college courtyard. While the practice has been in decline since the 1980s, when the Communist Party acted to rein in the personality cult around Mao, statues and busts of the former leader can still be found in party offices, some universities and in farmers’ homes.