Shanxi Province - Yan’ an 延安市

Yan’an was the headquarters of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China from January 1937 to March 1947; Xi’an was the center of the reactionary rule of the Kuomintang in Northwestern China. The late Chairman Mao Zedong cited the two cities as symbols of revolution and counter-revolution. Yan’an was the cradle of the Chinese revolution.

Yan’an, 270 kilometers to the north of Xi’an, capital of Shaanxi Province, But it has a special significance for those who want to learn something about contemporary Chinese history. In the period 1936 to 1947, Yan’an was the base of the Communist Party of China. There are many sites now open to the public, such as the headquarters of Fenghuang Mountains, Yangjialing, Zaoyuan and Wangjiaping, where the late Chinese leaders Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai spent some time commanding the Chinese revolution. The Yan’an Revolution Museum, about 1 kilometer southeast of Yangjialing, has an extensive collection—old uniforms, hand-made weaponry, and many photographs and illustrations. The museum also presents folk artisans wearing traditional clothes and performing waist drum dance and xintianyou (folk songs of Northern Shaanxi). Visitors can taste all kinds of local snacks made mainly of wheat flour. There are many comfortable hotels but is the tourist wants to experience real traditional life, s/ he can visit the yaodong Hotel. It is cheap but the tourist will obtain a rewarding experience while staying in Yaodong Hotel. A railway line links Yan’an with Xi’an along the Luohe River.

Yan'an Pagoda 延安宝塔

The 44-meter-tall octagonal pagoda, built in the early Tang Dynasty (618-907), is a state key cultural relic and is located on top of the Pagoda Hill. It is the symbol of the city, which used to be the headquarters of the Chinese Communist Party in the 1930s and early 1940s. Over the past 50 years, the local government had allocated special funds twice in order to protect the pagoda, but this has not totally prevented the threat of future landslides. Heavy rains have caused a number of landslides on the hill over the past few years, seriously threatening the pagoda. According to the survey done in 2000, the nine-storey ancient structure had tilted more than 30 centimeters northwestward. The rehabilitation project of the pagoda on Mount Pagoda will be carried out in two phases. One is consolidation of the hill through piling while the other will see concrete barriers built to control landsides. Wars throughout history, irresponsible action by nearby villagers and nature has together led to soil erosion on the hill. And the soil and the destruction of vegetation were the major reasons for the landslides. To complete the consolidation, some 300 households have been moved out of the hill area. The Yan’an local government has allocated 8.2 million yuan (US $ 987,000) to move the households. A total of 35.8 million yuan (US $ 4.31million) of state investment has been fed into the restoration project of the pagoda.

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