Departing from Shaoshan as the 16-year-old Mao did, travelers can follow his path to the 1,000-year-old Yuelu Academy, where the foremost founder of the People's Republic went to high school.

This place of learning - one of the top four institutions for classical studies in the arc of Chinese history - is wedged between scenic Mount Yuelu, which the late leader enjoyed climbing, and Xiangjiang River, in which he enjoyed swimming.

Dabbed across the Xiangjiang's dancing surface is a 5-km-long streak of land called Orange Isle. This was Mao's place of escape and contemplation during his formative school years.

The island's monumental influence in sculpting the late leader's early life has, in turn, shaped Orange Isle after his death - most dramatically, with the 2009 completion of a 3,500-square-meter stone statue of Mao based on a 1925 photograph.

It's the world's biggest Mao statue, rising from the world's largest inland river island.

The 32-meter-high, 83-meter-long, 42-meter-wide rock visage of New China's founding father appears as the Chinese version of Mount Rushmore.

Visitors to the island can, literally, step into Mao's heart to get a better understanding of his writings and life by passing through the doors in his statue's chest and into an exhibition center showcasing his works and belongings.

And it should be no surprise that two motifs pervade the displays here, as they do in the hearts of most Hunanese - red revolution and chili peppers.