Legends of the Great Helmsman keep growing bigger in his home town

The sight of a bust of Mao Zedong being worshipped alongside deities at shrine in local homes and restaurants is a startling reminder to visitors that they are in Shaoshan, birthplace of the late Chinese leader still affectionately referred to as Chairman Mao 37 years after his death.

Visitors to this small city in central Hunan province quickly discover how enthusiastic locals are to share their tales of Mao's super-nature powers they believe can still work magic in people's lives, good or bad.

That the leading figure of the atheist Communist Party is increasingly deified in China is one of the great ironies in a country where many are either lost in an increasingly material culture while others desperately seek spiritual guidance.

Mao Taozhi, a local businesswoman, recalls how locals were stunned to see the sun and the moon at the same time at about 10.30am on December 26, 1993 - Mao's 100th birthday.

As incense burned in front of a bronze Mao statue on her home alter, Mao described how locals were even more startled to wild azaleas, which usually blossom in March, in full bloom on a freezing winter's day.

"People outside of Shaoshan might dismiss such stories as superstition, but everyone here witnessed the events," she said. "We can't explain it, but they really happened on his birthday."