Old courtyard becomes a living Party museum

One night in 1944, Mao Zedong sat in his cold cave dwelling in Zaoyuan, a courtyard 8 kilometers from Yan'an, Shaanxi province, where he lived from October 1943 to December 1945.

The courtyard is now a historical attraction that receives more than 900,000 visitors a year.

Mao was writing letters and recording his thoughts about China's future. Because he was writing with a brush, his hand and wrist often became sore, causing a burning sensation, so he would grab a cold steel ingot on his desk to cool his hand before writing again.