SHANGHAI -- Authorities in Mao Tse-tung's hometown are cracking down on the worship of China's communist founder as a religious figure, a local official said.
Several temples where villagers were praying to Mao have been closed in Shaoshan, in the central province of Hunan the official told the Associated Press..
Thousands of items have been seized from stores and roadside souvenir stands that depict Mao as a halo-crowned Buddhist saint or a Chinese folk god bestowing wealth, he said.
The official said Communist Party leaders in the town decided to act from growing alarm at the appearance of "superstitious activities" involving Mao, who died in 1976.
The crackdown comes just before hundreds of thousands of Chinese are expected to visit Shaoshan during weeklong celebrations of China's Oct. 1 National Day. The holiday marks the date in 1949 when Mao declared the official founding of the People's Republic of China.