History
Lushan was established in 1895 by Edward Selby Little as a hill station for European and American settlers in China and was distinguished by the colonial architecture of its buildings. The district was run by foreigners in the Kuling Council. Because of its mild summers, the mountain town of Lushan is often referred to as 'Natures' Air Cooler'. Many travellers spend the summer months in the mountains to avoid the heat of nearby cities. In 1936, Lushan was returned to Chinese jurisdiction.
Prior to 1949, Lushan was a frequent training and marshalling area for the nationalist Kuomintang army. The then President of China, Chiang Kai-Shek often visited Lushan whilst on vacation and many tourist attractions commemorate this fact. It was here that in 1946 the U.S. special diplomatic mission representing the President of the United States led by General George C. Marshall met with Chiang Kai-Shek to discuss the role of post-WWII China.
After the communist revolution in China in 1949, it became famous as a favoured meeting place for the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. It hosted the Eighth Plenum of the Eighth Central Committee, also known as the "Lushan Conference" or "Plenum", which began on 23 July and convened on 2 August, 1959. Lushan also hosted the Second Plenum of the Ninth Central Committee in August 1970.
The movie "Lushan Lian", which has been shown in the Lushan theatre non-stop since 1980, was recognised by Guinness World Records as the longest running movie in theatres. Each ticket sold to this movie is numbered according to ticket sales to date. As of May 2006, this number is close to 140 million tickets.
In 2007, a biography of Grand Canyon pioneer Harvey Butchart entitled Grand Obsession: Harvey Butchart and the Exploration of Grand Canyon by Elias Butler and Tom Myers was published. This book contains several chapters about Mount Lushan where Butchart spent several years as the child of missionaries.
The town was also the birthplace of English author Mervyn Peake.
Read more about this topic: Lushan District
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