Stoking Nationalism or Teaching the Consequences of War?

As territorial disputes have continued to escalate between the Chinese and Japanese over the Diaoyu/Senkaku island chain, Chinese tourists are arriving at The Eighth Route Army Culture Park in Wuxiang county, a war theme park where visitors can dress up at Chinese or Japanese troops and then shoot at each other using toy weapons.  The $80 million theme park, backed by the local government, opened a year ago, and is located in an area famous as a “red tourism” destination.  Of the 140,000 troops of the famed Eight Route Army, which fought over 4,300 battles against the Japanese during the 1930s and 40s, over 90,000 of these troops were from Wuxiang county.

Activities at the theme park include trench simulation scenarios based on the video game “Stalker” whereby visitors dress as Japanese or Eight Route Army troops, a train ride where passengers can shoot at Japanese soldiers, and a live-action performance depicting actors dressed as Japanese troops sticking samurai swords in plainclothes Eighth Route Army soldiers and then shooting them. This past August, the county held its first Eighth Route Army Cultural Festival, when eighty retired soldiers were invited to attend.

Some Chinese war veterans are supportive of the theme park, believing it shows an important part of China’s history and reveals the horrors of war.  Other Japanese commentators have dismissed the park as mere government propaganda, stating the theme park is disrespectful to both Japanese and Chinese troops.

Whatever the true motive of the local government was in opening this war theme park, the depiction of violence as play between warring nations is in extremely poor taste, especially during these times of heightened tensions between China and Japan.  Some Chinese may liken the play violence to that of American children playing cowboy and Indian, but these playful games are neither promoted at the local or national level nor are these animosities carried into adulthood.  Others may try to compare the war theme park to the mock Civil War battles held in the U.S.  But those mock battles depict events internal to the U.S. and do not offend other nations.  Other Chinese may complain of the war games taking place every year among the U.S. troops and their allies in the region – but these war games are between professional soldiers and are necessary to maintain troop fitness should their services be needed.  War is a serious matter and has serious consequences, depictions of which should be confined to museums portraying the gruesome price paid by both sides.

It is difficult to fathom the parents of Chinese children bringing their child to the theme park so he can “play-kill” other children dressed as Japanese soldiers. Imagine for an instant the Germans opening a theme park where visitors can dress up as Nazis and “pretend-kill” their enemies!   What are Chinese parents who bring their children to the park teaching them?  Are their children really learning the horrors of war in a proper fashion or is the local government attempting to stoke patriotism and nationalism among the young?