In 1966, Chairman Mao launched 'The Cultural Revolution', aiming to preserve true Communist ideology and purge China of any capitalist or bourgeois remnants. As part of the process, 17 million teenagers were sent to inner Mongolia to learn the peasant way of life. While those who were exiled to Mongolia, named the 'Class of 66', admit to the hardships they faced, a nostalgia is emerging for the hard times; nostalgia restaurants are popping up, and trips for young people to villages where their parents were sent are becoming popular. A source of nostalgia seems to come from observing the younger generation, with the 'Class of '66' lamenting at their lack of true life experience: "This generation is very fragile. They don't realise there are many problems in society - in life." Yet people remember the revolution differently, no more so than prolific writer Wang Shuo. ABC Australia speaks to Shuo, as well as members of the 'Class of '66', on the revolution's continuing influence.

Produced by ABC Australia