Sight Overview

sh.jpg (12078 bytes)Yan’an is a remote town in the northern part of Shaanxi Province. It was the Red Army who, having been betrayed yet again by the Nationalists and then hounded halfway across the most inhospitable parts of China on an epic Long March, gave this town fame by occupying it. As with much of the propaganda, the main sights in town are only really interesting to those with a fix upon the history that goes with them. Thankfully both the architecture here and the scenery outside of town, should make this a worthwhile one day stop.

Most of the attractions here are more or less related to the sacred topic of revolution. Visitors should start with a general overview of the tremultuous history of the early years from inside the Revolutionary History Museum, which boasts uniforms, weaponery, books, photos and other paraphenalia from this era. Then a visit to the Yangjialing Revolution Headquarters, where the top cadres, including Chairman Mao, ate, slept, held meetings and wrote propaganda, will put a bit of flesh upon the past. There are also numerous other headquarters in the town, of note are both the Fenghuangshan and Wangjiaping HQs. There is one sight that does claim roots from before the revolution, the Baota Hill, whose main pagoda is of Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) origin, although even this has now been incorporated as one of Red China’s trademarks.

An eight hour bus ride from Yan’an will take you to a sleepy town on the fringe of the Mao Wu Su Desert, Yulin, that is a perfect day or so get away. The town has been little touched since its heyday in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD) as a frontier patrol town and retains much of its old time charm and pretty architecture.

Sight Index
Gold Medals or silver Medals indicate Sights recommended by Lonelychina.