Yan'an

Yan'an; ; alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several counties, including Zhidan (formerly Bao'an), which served as the headquarters of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) before the city of Yan'an proper took that role.

Yan'an was near the endpoint of the Long March, and became the center of the Chinese Communist Revolution from late 1935 to early 1947. Chinese communists celebrate Yan'an as the birthplace of the revolution.

As of 2019, Yan'an has approximately 2,255,700 permanent residents.

History

Yan'an was populated at least as early as the Xia dynasty, when it formed part of . The area was not part of the subsequent Shang dynasty, and was instead inhabited by the Guifang, who fought against the Shang dynasty. The area was later inhabited by the Quanrong and the Xianyun during the Western Zhou period. During the Spring and Autumn period, the area was inhabited by the Beidi people. In the early portions of the Warring States period, the central and northern parts of present-day Yan'an belonged to the state of Wei, while the southern part belonged to the state of Qin. Later on in the Warring States period, the whole area was conquered by the Qin state.

Upon the establishment of the Qin dynasty in 221 BCE, the area was organized as part of Shang Commandery. The area remained part of Shang Commandery during the Han dynasty. The area's administrative divisions were reorganized during the Northern Wei: the southern portion was organized as , which comprised , , Yizhou Commandery (), and Lezhou Commandery (); the northern portion was organized as , which comprised Biancheng Commandery (), , Shang Commandery, and Shuofang Commandery, as well as within Xià Prefecture. During the During the Western Wei, the area was organized as , Fu Prefecture, and Dan Prefecture. Under the Sui dynasty, the area was re-organized as , and a military base was established.

During the subsequent Tang dynasty, the area belonged to , and it became an important defensive outpost. Upon the Tang dynasty's establishment in 618 CE, three local commanderies were replaced with prefectures. The following year, another prefecture, was created in the area of present-day Yan'an. The prefecture system was briefly abolished in 742 CE, resulting in the area's four prefectures being reclassified as commanderies, although this was reverted in 758 CE.

At the beginning of the Song dynasty, the area's four local prefectures belonged to . However, early on in the Song dynasty, the newly formed Tangut-led Western Xia dynasty briefly conquered northwestern portions of present-day Yan'an. Upon reconquering the area, the Song government placed it under the jurisdiction of two military-run jurisdictions known as : and Dingbian Jun (). In 1041, was established in present-day Yan'an. In 1080, Chinese polymath Shen Kuo was deployed to Yan Prefecture to aid in its defenses against the Western Xia.Sivin (1995), III, 8. Around this time, he noted that a landslide on the bank of a large river near Yan Prefecture had revealed an open space several dozens of feet under the ground once the bank collapsed.Needham (1986), Volume 3, 614. This underground space contained hundreds of petrified bamboos still intact with roots and trunks, "all turned to stone" as Shen wrote. Shen noted that bamboo does not grow in the area, and he was puzzled during which previous dynasty the bamboos could have grown. Considering that damp and gloomy low places provide suitable conditions for the growth of bamboo, Shen deduced that the area's climate must have fit that description in very ancient times. Although this would have intrigued many of his readers, the study of paleoclimatology in medieval China did not develop into an established discipline. During the autumn months of 1081, Shen was successful in defending Song dynasty territory while capturing several nearby fortified towns of the Western Xia.Sivin (1995), III, 9. Emperor Shenzong of Song rewarded Shen with numerous titles for his merit in these battles, and in the sixteen months of Shen's military campaign, he received 273 letters from the Emperor. However, Emperor Shenzong trusted an arrogant military officer who disobeyed the emperor and Shen's proposal for strategic fortifications, instead fortifying what Shen considered useless strategic locations. Furthermore, this officer expelled Shen from his commanding post at the main citadel, so as to deny him any glory in chance of victory. The result of this was nearly catastrophic, as the forces of the arrogant officer were decimated; Xinzhong Yao states that the death toll was 60,000.Yao (2003), 544. Nonetheless, Shen was successful in defending his fortifications and the only possible Tangut invasion-route to Yanzhou. However, it was eventually taken over by the Tanguts in 1082 once Shen's defensive victories were marginalized and sacrificed by the new chancellor Cai Que (who handed the city over to the Tanguts as terms of a peace treaty). In 1089, Yan Prefecture was renamed to Yan'an, and was promoted to a fu.

At the start of the Jin dynasty, Fuyan Circuit remained intact, and administered Yan'an Fu, Fu Prefecture, Fang Prefecture, Dan Prefecture, , Bao'an Jun, and Dingbian Jun. In 1146, Dingbian Jun was abolished, and in 1171, Bao'an Jun was reorganized as a county. In 1182, Bao'an County was reorganized as Bao'an Prefecture. In 1221, the Mongol Empire, led by Genghis Khan, began its invasion of Shaanxi with the aid of the Western Xia. That year, in the eastern portion of present-day Yan'an, the combined Mongol and Western Xia forces defeated a 30,000-strong Jin army led by general .

During the Yuan dynasty, was established, which administered Fu Prefecture, , and Suide Prefecture.

In 1369, during the Ming dynasty, Yan'an Circuit was reverted back to a fu.

In 1725, during the Qing dynasty, the was established in the area, which administered Yan'an Fu and Fu Prefecture. Prior to the Dungan Revolt (1862–1877), much of rural Yan'an was inhabited by Chinese Muslims. Much of its Muslim population was either killed in massacres, or forcibly relocated to areas further northwest, like Gansu. The demographic impacts of this was felt for decades, as the local economy cratered, and insufficient government support hindered recovery efforts: In 1823, Bao'an (present-day Zhidan County) had a population of 51,000, but only 170 remained in 1868; while Yan'an (present-day Baota District) had 61,200 inhabitants in 1823, but only about 10,000 in 1930. One account from a British traveler in 1911 described Yan'an as "a city of pretentious Government Offices long fallen into decay...Gazing down a vista of dim distant years one caught a glimpse of past splendour; but the living forces of which it had been the drapery and symbols had long since died out, leaving stagnation, corruption and decay to reign in its halls".

After the fall of the Qing dynasty, the city became part of the newly created Republic of China, and was reorganized by the Republican government in 1913 under . In 1920, the circuit's government was moved to the city of Fushi, within present-day Baota District. Circuits were abolished in 1928, resulting in counties being directly administered by the provincial government.

Throughout the Republic of China, feudal-like landlordism persisted in Yan'an, and a number of observers found it to be worse in the region than elsewhere in rural China.

Red Capital and the Chinese Civil War

In 1934, two regional soviets were established. In October 1935, following the Long March, forces of the Chinese Red Army arrived in the area from Jiangxi. The following month, communist forces established a regional government in Wayaobu and re-organized regional soviet administrations. In May 1936, the area was re-organized by communist forces as Shaan-Gan-Ning Province (). In December 1936, at the start of the Second United Front, Yan'an was taken over by the Chinese Communists. When Edgar Snow went there in 1936, it was under Kuomintang control and a Red army siege had recently been lifted. Unknown to him at the time, there had also been contacts there between the Communists and the generals who later staged the Xi'an Incident. Snow actually met Mao at Bao'an (Pao An).

Having rebelled against Chiang, the local warlords decided to hand over Yan'an to the Communists, who were now allies. They pulled out, and in January 1937, the Red Army entered Yan'an, without a fight. Around this time, American journalist Agnes Smedley was covering the Communist Eighth Route Army, which she wrote about in her book Battle Hymn of China.

On September 6, 1937, Yan'an became the seat of the communist government of what became known as the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region. It became the center for intensive training of party members and army troops. Thousands of intellectuals traveled to Yan'an from all over the country. From 1937 through 1941, the Communist government organized large-scale migrations to Yan'an, predominantly from Suide to the northeast, which was a significantly more densely populated area. Many farmers from the region were attracted to Yan'an for the prospect of working more land, as well as the Communists' land and tax reforms. From 1937 to 1939, over 1,500,000 '' mu'' of previously unused land was cleared for agriculture. During this time, the large drive for intense rural labor earned its detractors, and was publicly criticized by some for "giving people a distaste for collective labour". Subsequently, these types of large-scale labor projects would be handled by the army. In 1941, Mao Zedong put special influence on a series of training programs to "correct unorthodox tendencies" and essentially mold the peasantry to the communist model. One of the first CCP programs launched was the Yan'an Rectification Movement.

World War II and resumption of the Chinese Civil War

During the Second World War almost all buildings, except a pagoda, were destroyed by Japanese bombing, and most inhabitants took to living in yaodongs, artificial caves or dugouts carved into hillsides which were traditional dwellings in Shaanxi. While Yan'an was the center of Chinese communist life many prominent Western journalists including Edgar Snow and Anna Louise Strong met with Mao Zedong and other important leaders for interviews. Other Westerners, such as Hsiao Li and Michael Lindsay, were part of the resistance movement in Yan'an.

In July 1942, Wuqi County was established.

Beginning in 1944, Yan'an played host to the United States Army Observation Group, also known as the Dixie Mission. This group sought to establish relations with Chinese Communist forces, investigate the Communist Party politically and militarily, and determine whether the United States should back Communist forces. Prominent Americans tasked with evaluating the Communist forces politically and militarily include John S. Service of the United States Department of State, and Colonel David D. Barrett of the United States Army. The mission explored possible plans for cooperation against the Japanese. The Americans had a presence in Yan'an from 1944 to 1947.

In May 1945, the government of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border moved from Yan'an to Xi'an.

Yan'an was briefly captured in the Battle of Yan'an by the Kuomintang forces in the Chinese Civil War. The Communist leadership learned of a planned attack in advance, and ultimately voluntarily withdrew from the city. From then until their capture of Beijing they were usually based somewhere else, often with a mobile headquarters. On April 21, 1948, the People's Liberation Army retook Yan'an.

People's Republic of China

In May 1950, under the People's Republic of China, Yan'an was re-organized as Yan'an District (), and was further re-organized as a special district () in October. Yan'an was later established as a prefecture ().

On November 15, 1996, Yan'an Area was revoked and established as a prefecture-level city.

Yan'an's experienced fast-paced urbanization during the Eleventh Five-Year Plan period (2006–2010). From 2011 to 2015, it underwent a red tourism-oriented beautification project.

Xi Jinping visited Yan'an in 2015. During the visit, he emphasized the importance of studying the Communist Party's history in Yan'an and called for a renewed focus on the principles of Marxism–Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, and the party's revolutionary tradition.

Geography

Yan'an is located in northern Shaanxi on the Loess Plateau, with a latitude spanning from 35°21′ to 37°31′ N, and a longitude spanning from 107°41′ to 110°31′ E. The city is bordered by Yulin to the north, Xianyang, Tongchuan, and Weinan in the Guanzhong region to the south, Linfen and Lüliang of Shanxi to the east across the middle reaches of the Yellow River, and Qingyang of Gansu to the west across the Ziwu Ridge (). The city's elevation is hilly, and is higher in the northwest, and lower in the southeast, ranging from above sea level in elevation. The average elevation of Yan'an is approximately , and Yan'an's urban core has an elevation of about above sea level. In addition to the Yellow River flowing through Yan'an, the city's major rivers include the Yan River and the Luo River.

Climate

Yan'an has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification ''Dwa'') that borders on a steppe climate (Köppen ''BSk''), with cold, dry, and moderately long winters, and hot, somewhat humid summers. Spring and autumn are short transition seasons in between. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from in January to in July, and the annual mean is . The area receives of precipitation, 47% of which falls in July and August. Yan'an averages around 300 days of sunshine per year.

Pollution

Yan'an experiences moderate to severe air pollution year‐round. Its basin‐like terrain combined with frequent winter temperature inversions traps locally emitted pollutants, while heavy reliance on coal for industry and residential heating, growing vehicle use, and seasonal dust storms from surrounding arid regions together maintain high concentrations of particulate matter (PM_2.5 and PM₁₀) and gaseous contaminants such as sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and NO''x'' gases. Elevated PM_2.5 levels are linked to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, while acid deposition from SO₂ and NO''x'' damages soils and vegetation across the fragile loess landscape.

Yan'an sits atop the highly erodible Loess Plateau, where thick wind‐deposited silt forms uneven terrain that impedes horizontal dispersion of air pollutants. On the eastern edge of the plateau, a persistent “warm cover” of anomalously warm air and downdrafts suppresses vertical mixing, creating a convergence line that carries and concentrates emissions along the slopes—a phenomenon that amplifies pollution levels by 50–150% compared to flatter regions. During winter months, strong temperature inversions—layers of warmer air aloft capping colder surface air—further inhibit the vertical dilution of pollutants, leading to seasonal peaks in PM_2.5 concentrations and prolonged haze events.

Sources of pollution

Coal mining, coal‐fired power generation and cement production dominate Yan'an's industrial sector, collectively releasing large volumes of SO₂, NO''x'' gases, and coarse (PM₁₀) and fine (PM_2.5) particulate matter. Inefficient combustion and fugitive dust from these facilities are key contributors to the city's annual pollution burden.

In winter, over 80% of households in northern China, which includes Yan'an and its surroundings, rely on coal combustion for space heating. Traditional stoves and boilers emit high levels of black carbon and PM_2.5, driving sharp increases in airborne particulates during colder months.

Road vehicles in Yan'an contribute significant quantities of nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds and fine particulates. Regional tracking studies identify Yulin and Yan’an as important sources for wintertime NO''x'' and PM transport within the Fen‐ Wei River Valley, indicating that urban traffic emissions exacerbate local air quality problems.

Seasonal dust storms originating in the Mu Us Desert and adjacent arid zones inject pulses of PM₁₀ into Yan'an's atmosphere. Natural dust events can elevate particulate concentrations several‐fold within hours, compounding anthropogenic pollution and sustaining prolonged haze episodes.

Administrative divisions

Demographics

As of 2019, Yan'an has approximately 2,255,700 permanent residents, a slight decrease from the 2,259,400 recorded in 2018. As of 2019, there are 2,336,587 people with a Yan'an hukou registration. This discrepancy reflects China's system of internal migration, as many hukou holders in more rural areas migrate to larger and more developed cities.

Approximately 674,700 people lived in Yan'an's two districts ( Baota and Ansai) as of 2019.

Vital statistics

In 2019, Yan'an recorded a birth rate of 9.80‰ ( per thousand), and a death rate of 5.97‰, giving the city a rate of natural increase of 3.83‰. This is a slight decrease from 2018, when the rate of natural increase was 4.30‰.

Ethnic groups

Nearly all of Yan'an's population is ethnically Han Chinese. There are 6,000 people in Yan'an who belong to 34 different ethnic minority groups, of which, the majority are Hui.

Language

Three Chinese linguistic varieties are widely spoken in Yan'an: the Shaanbei dialect of Jin Chinese, the of Central Plains Mandarin, and the Guanzhong dialect of Central Plains Mandarin. Within the Shaanbei dialect, the Zhi-Yan dialect is spoken throughout much of Yan'an.

Income

In 2019, urban households earned an average disposable income of 34,888 RMB, an 8.3% increase from the previous year. Rural households earned a lower average of 11,876 RMB, reflecting a 10.1% increase from the previous year.

Economy

Like much of China, Yan'an's economy has rapidly developed in the 21st century. Yan'an's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019 stood at 166.389 billion RMB, more than ten times its GDP in 2000, which stood at just 13.063 billion RMB. Yan'an recorded a 6.7% increase to GDP in 2019, down from the 8.9% growth recorded in 2018, and below the peak of 19.6% annual GDP growth the city achieved in 2004. The GDP per capita of Yan'an totals 73,703 RMB as of 2019, a 6.9% increase from the previous year. Of Yan'an's county-level divisions, Baota District recorded the largest GDP in 2019, totaling 36.391 billion RMB. Baota District is followed by Luochuan County and Huangling County, which recorded economic outputs totaling 24.387 billion and 18.593 billion RMB, respectively.
Yan'an is largely reliant on its secondary sector, which comprises the majority of its GDP as of 2019.

Agriculture

As of 2019, the city's output in the fields of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishing totals 26.107 billion RMB. Of this, farming accounted for 21.798 billion RMB, animal husbandry accounted for 2.987 billion RMB, forestry accounted for 621.17 million RMB, fishing accounted for 72.82 million RMB, and agricultural services accounted for 628.32 million RMB.

The total area of Yan'an's farmland in 2019 is 183.30 thousand hectares, of which, 72.79 thousand hectares are used for growing maize. Sizable tracts of land in Yan'an are also used to grow vegetables and soybeans. Yan'an has the second largest cotton production out of all the prefecture-level cities in Shaanxi, behind just Weinan. The city also grows a large amount of rapeseeds, peanuts, apples, jujubes, and apricots. Yan'an is also the second largest honey producer in Shaanxi, behind Hanzhong.

Industry

As of 2019, the city's industrial output is worth 96.510 billion RMB, a 6.4% increase from the previous year at constant prices. In 2018, the petroleum industry alone accounted for 54.419 billion RMB of output. In addition to oil and natural gas, major industries in the city include coal mining, power generation, and cigarette production.

Petroleum industry

Yan'an is a major oil and gas center in China. In 2018, 15,292,400 tons of crude oil were extracted from the city. Of this, 8,565,800 tons were extracted by Yanchang Petroleum, and the remaining 6,726,600 tons were extracted as part of CNPC's Changqing Oil Field. The Changqing Oil Field, part of the wider Ordos basin, one of China's main petroleum-producing regions, has been home to oil extraction since the early 1970s.

Retail

The total retail sales of consumer goods in Yan'an totaled 41.113 billion RMB in 2019. The majority of these retail sales took place in Baota District, which recorded 24.000 billion RMB of sales that year.

Culture

Yan'an's culture is more broadly part of the Shaanbei culture that exists throughout northern Shaanxi. The area has unique traditional music, which often incorporates the use of waist drums, most notably those from Ansai District. The area also unique traditional paper cutting crafts. Yaodong, cave dwellings indigenous to the Loess Plateau, are also indigenous to the wider northern Shaanxi region.

The Erdao Street Night Market () is a street market in Baota District which features many of the hallmarks of Shaanbei culture, including local cuisine, décor, and folk music.

Tourism

The city is a major center for Red tourism in China, with facilities such as the Yan'an Revolution Memorial Hall attracting Chinese citizens and Communist Party cadres seeking to learn more about the Party's history. Red tourism to Yan'an significantly increased in the years following Xi Jinping's 2015 visit, with 40.25 million tourist visits in 2016 and 73.08 million tourist visits in 2019.

In 2021, the development project Golden Yan'an opened as part of the Holy Land Valley Cultural Tourism Industrial Park. This tourist town is branded as the "new landmark of Red Tourism in China" and features old-fashioned Chinese streets and shops in the style of the 1930s Yan'an Soviet. The major attraction of Golden Yan'an is "The Ode of Yan'an" nightlight show. The free show depicts a series of historical moments from the Communist Party's Yan'an period presented with a light show on the mountains and an audio-visual projection on Baota Mountain.Yan'an Red Street uses red culture-themed stories to connect the soul of the entire neighborhood. In addition, unlike other tourist attractions, Yan'an Red Street has created many innovative interactive experiential projects, allowing tourists to experience a Red Street journey that integrates body and soul.

Shortly before the centenary of the Chinese Communist Party, Yan'an launched the "Red Stars Flying Me to Yan'an from Thirteen Cities" imitative, which sought to promote tourism to Yan'an for the study of revolutionary history, including with drastically reduced airfare.

Transportation

* Yan'an Nanniwan Airport
*G2211 Changyan Expressway
* G65 Baotou–Maoming Expressway
* China National Highway 210

Education

Yan'an is home to 251 standard primary schools and 112 standard secondary schools, enrolling 218,100 and 129,900 students, respectively. The city also has 556 kindergartens, enrolling 119,500 students. The city also has 5 special education schools, serving 372 disabled students. As of 2019, Yan'an has 13 public libraries.

Notable educational institutions

*
*China Yan'an Executive Leadership Academy
*Yan'an Middle School

Healthcare

Yan'an is home to 2,631 healthcare institutions as of 2019, which contain 14,560 medical beds, and are staffed by 24,298 employees.

See also

* Yan'an Rectification Movement
* Yan'an Talks on Literature and Art
* 2693 Yan'an

Notes

References

External links

Official website of Yan'an GovernmentYan'an (China) – Britannica Online Encyclopedia

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Cities in Shaanxi
Prefecture-level divisions of Shaanxi
National Famous Historical and Cultural City