A full century has passed since the last emperor stepped down from the dragon throne, and CIT as an institution is little more than a fading memory. For many Chinese, CIT remains a historical curiosity. A large tourism industry has grown up around the preservation of major monuments such as the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. Chinese tourists flock to these great repositories of their ancient heritage. Mao Zedong and his political heirs considered the remnants of feudal and imperial society as reminders of a thoroughly discredited way of life. They are mere museum pieces to many, and relics of an oppressive past to others, but they remain important evidence in reconstructing the story of Chinese religion.