The Office of National Red Tourism Coordination Group (ONRTCG or 'the Red Office') is in charge of red tourism.^[5]: 24 The Chinese government began actively supporting red tourism in 2005^[6] to promote the "national ethos" and socioeconomic development in those areas,^[7] which are typically rural and poorer than East China. The "General Plan for the Development of Red Tourism in 2004-2010" (2004－2010年全国红色旅游发展规划纲要), issued by the General Office of the Chinese Communist Party and the General Office of the State Council, established the first batch of 100 so-called "red tourism classic scenic spots" (红色旅游经典景区). In 2012, officials representing several Chinese cities signed a "China Red Tourism Cities Strategic Cooperation Yan'an Declaration" to develop red tourism. Those cities were Guang'an, Yan'an, Jinggangshan, Ruijin, Zunyi, Shijiazhuang, Qingyang, Chishui, Longyan, and Shaoshan.^[8]

In the CCP's view, red tourism strengthens revolutionary traditions, enhances patriotism, and promotes a unique national spirit.^[9]: 64 A Chinese official said, "This is a major project that benefits both the Party, the nation and the people, either in the economic, cultural and the political sense."^[10] In 2004, People's Daily described red tourism as contributing to a virtuous cycle in which through the socialist market economy, social benefits and economic benefits are integrated and "spiritual wealth is transformed into social wealth."^[5]: 102

The number of red tourism sites has continuously grown since its inception in 2005. Several plans for developing red tourism were implemented in all provinces of the PRC, as highlighted in the project Topography of Red Memories in Modern China.

• Gutian, site of the Gutian Congress, where Mao Zedong stamped out "ultra-democracy" (voting among Red Army members). The resolution in the conference stipulated the basic principles for building the Party and the army.^[11]
• Yan'an,^[12] near the endpoint of the Long March, and thus became the center of the Chinese Communist Revolution from 1936 to 1948. Chinese communists celebrate Yan'an as the birthplace of the revolution. Tourists can participate in daily mock battles portraying “The Defense of Yan’an” against Chinese Nationalist Army forces.^[4] The "Golden Yan'an" tourist city features old-fashioned Chinese streets and shops in the style of the 1930s Yan'an Soviet.^[5]: 1–2 The major attraction of Golden Yan'an is "The Ode of Yan'an" show, which depicts historical moments from the Communist Party's Yan'an period presented with a light show on the mountains and an audio-visual projection on Baota Mountain.^[5]: 2
• Jinggangshan,^[13] the cradle of the Chinese Communist Revolution,^[14] where Mao Zedong and other leading members of the Chinese Communist Party established the first rural base for the revolution in 1927.^[14]
• Zunyi,^[15] the site of the Zunyi Conference
• Japanese Germ Warfare Experimental Base in Harbin^[6]
• Xifeng Concentration Camp^[6]
• Shaoshan, the birthplace of Mao Zedong ^[6]
• Hainan Island^[16]
• Nanjie, Henan province: Small village where its local residents still live under Maoist ideas and live according to commune principles.
• Shanghai: Site of the 1921 Communist meeting.
• Nanchang, Jiangxi Province: Site of the Nanchang Uprising (August 1, 1927).
• Chongqing: Communist sites from WWII.
• Ruijin, Jiangxi Province: Headquarters of the Communist Party in the early 1930s.
• Tingzhou, Fujian, where leaders of the Communist Party such as Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai took refuge during the early years of the civil war.^[17]

Other significant sites for red tourism in China include Dazhai village in Shanxi province which was promoted for its model agricultural work in the Mao-era learn from Dazhai campaign.^[9]: 174 Dazhai hosts the Chinese Dream Red-Theme museum.^[9]: 174

The China Red Tourism and Cultural Festival is held annually in Hunan. The 2010 Festival took place in July and took advantage of high-speed rail in China.^{[citation needed]}

During the 100th Anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party, the Shanghai local government promoted visits to the sites of the CCP's First National Congress, Second National Congress, and Fourth National Congress.^[9]: 64

The Patriotic Education Campaign contributed to the development of red tourism, particularly through its establishment of "Patriotic Education Bases".^{[5]: 99–100}

Red tourism first developed in comparatively small villages around the mid-1990s.^[5]: 101 According to the China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases, the term hongse lvyou 红色旅游 (red tourism) first appeared in a mainstream publication in 1996, when the term was used by the head of the Women's Committee of China's Old Region Development Program.^[5]: 101

A significant rise in red tourism occurred in the late 1990s, prompted by the development of tourism as a significantly profitable economic sector and celebrations and commemorations related to the Communist Party's past becoming settled into tradition.^[5]: 100

At the end of 2004, the central government issued its 2004-2010 National Red Tourism Development Outline, which provided a guideline for subsequent developments in red tourism.^{[5]: 102–103} It characterized the development of red tourism as significant in instilling patriotism, revolutionary spirit, and promoting socioeconomic development in the revolutionary base areas.^[5]: 103

According to academics Christopher Marquis and Kunyuan Qiao, red tourism in China has a significant impact in intergenerational transmission of Mao Zedong's political theory.^[9]: 58 Through multilateral marketing and massive consumption, red tourism helps to enhance Chinese regime's political legitimacy.^[18] It 'softly' improves Chinese state's image without eliciting social resistance.^[19]

Aging original members of the Red Army criticize the "Disneyfication" of what should be solemn war memorials.^[6]

Other former Communist countries can have red tourism, such as the Czech Republic, previously part of Czechoslovakia and ruled by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.^[20]

Recently, Russian researchers started to focus on the studying of the trend of Russian-Chinese tourism development.^[21] To attract red tourism business from China, Russian tourism authorities developed the "red circuit," an eight-day tour through multiple cities focused on the life of Vladimir Lenin.^[5]: 2

In North Korea, Revolutionary Sites are a part of red tourism in the country.^{[citation needed]}