Visitors wait in lines to enter the Kremlin in the heart of Moscow.

The China National Tourism Administration and Russia's tourism authority have signed an agreement to jointly promote red tourism for the 2015-17 period.

Liu's tour was part of such an exchange program between the two countries.

Travel agencies on both sides are developing routes, says Hunan tourism bureau's deputy director Wang Chaoxiang.

Russia will design five popular revolutionary itineraries, according to Luo Dihui, deputy director of China's coordination office for red tourism.

The country may also construct leisure zones around Soviet-themed museum clusters.

Classic routes take about a week. Trips from Beijing cost roughly 5,000 yuan ($790) off-season－from November to April－and are usually just shy of 10,000 yuan in the peak season, Yan says.

Liu says she made the trip because she's fascinated by Soviet history, and other dimensions of Russia also impress her.

She adored the "extravagant" old churches festooned with real gold. Gifts from other countries displayed at the Winter and Summer palaces also intrigued her, and ballet performances delighted her.

She describes St Petersburg's Novodevichy Cemetery as "breathtaking". The abode of the dead in Russia reminded her of life at home.

"It was spectacular to see the tombs of 26,000 historical figures," she says. "Including some Chinese."

Contact the writer at yangfeiyue@chinadaily.com.cn