New Socialist Climax examines various levels of reality in China's recent state-sponsored red tourism, a national campaign which brings people, especially government employees and the young, to the old communist revolutionary bases. On the surface, red tourism is a win-win for all parties involved: the Party gets to boost its ideological propaganda in support of its fading legitimacy, the tourists get to splurge on a free trip and to exhibit political loyalty to the establishment, and the locals get to cash in nicely with floods of tourists coming and spending (often extravagantly, if the government is covering their expenses). Made up of four chapters, the film is based on footage shot around the four key dates of the year for red tourism: June 1 (International Children's Day), July 1 (Chinese Communist Party Day), August 1 (People's Army Day) and October 1 (National Day for the People's Republic of China). New Socialist Climax epitomizes the fast-changing and often confusing realities of China today, with its mingling of capitalism and communism, rural economic stimulus and state-sponsored ideology.