Yan'an

Yan'an 延安市
Prefecture-level city
Location of Yan'an City jurisdiction in Shaanxi
Coordinates: 36°35′N 109°29′E / 36.583°N 109.483°E / 36.583; 109.483Coordinates: 36°35′N 109°29′E / 36.583°N 109.483°E / 36.583; 109.483
Country	China
Province	Shaanxi
Area
• Total	37,000 km2 (14,000 sq mi)
Elevation	975 m (3,199 ft)
Population (2006)
• Total	2,150,800
• Density	58/km2 (150/sq mi)
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)
Licence plates	陕J
Website	yanan.gov.cn

Yan'an (Chinese: 延安; pinyin: Yán'ān) is a prefecture-level city in the Shanbei 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 Communists 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 1936 to 1948. Chinese communists celebrate Yan'an as the birthplace of the revolution.

Administrative divisions

Map
#	Name	Hanzi	Hanyu Pinyin	Population (2004 est.)	Area (km²)	Density (/km²)
1	Baota District	宝塔区	Bǎotǎ Qū	400,000	3,556	112
2	Yanchang County	延长县	Yáncháng Xiàn	150,000	2,295	65
3	Yanchuan County	延川县	Yánchuān Xiàn	180,000	1,941	93
4	Zichang County	子长县	Zǐcháng Xiàn	240,000	2,405	100
5	Ansai County	安塞县	Ānsài Xiàn	160,000	2,984	54
6	Zhidan County	志丹县	Zhìdān Xiàn	130,000	3,781	34
7	Wuqi County	吴起县	Wúqǐ Xiàn	130,000	3,776	34
8	Ganquan County	甘泉县	Gānquán Xiàn	80,000	2,288	35
9	Fu County	富县	Fù Xiàn	150,000	4,185	36
10	Luochuan County	洛川县	Luòchuān Xiàn	200,000	1,886	106
11	Yichuan County	宜川县	Yíchuān Xiàn	110,000	2,945	37
12	Huanglong County	黄龙县	Huánglóng Xiàn	50,000	2,383	21
13	Huangling County	黄陵县	Huánglíng Xiàn	120,000	2,288	52

History

In medieval China, Yan'an was once called Yanzhou, a location of strategic military importance for the Chinese empire and Tanguts of the Western Xia Dynasty. It was once successfully defended by the Song Dynasty (960–1279) era Chinese scientist, statesman, and general Shen Kuo (1031–1095 AD). 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). Yan'an and the whole of Shaanxi were taken over by the Mongols in the late 1220s, only after their leader Genghis Khan had died during the siege of the Western Xia capital in 1227. The city was maintained by the successive Chinese Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), as well as the Manchu Qing Dynasty (1644–1911). After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the city became part of the newly created Republic of China.

Red Capital

Mao with visiting foreign journalists in 1944

In December 1936, at the start of the Second United Front, Yan'an was taken over by the Chinese Communists.^[1] They had arrived in the area in October 1935 after making the famous Long March from Jiangxi. When Edgar Snow went there in 1936, it was under Kuomintang control and a Red army siege had recently been lifted.^[2] 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 the Red Army walked in without a fight. This is described by Agnes Smedley in her book Battle Hymn of China. She was in Xi'an at the time and got to Yan'an shortly after the take-over.

From 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. 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 CPC programs launched was the Yan'an Rectification Movement.

Conference room; tourists can rent and dress in Chinese Red Army garb

World War II

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. Hsiao Li and Michael Lindsay were part of the resistance movement.^[3]

During the Second World War, Yan'an played host to the United States Army Observation Group, also known as the Dixie Mission. In addition to establishing relations, the goal was to investigate the Communist Party politically and militarily, and determine if the U.S. would benefit from establishing liaison. John S. Service, of the United States Department of State, was responsible for political analysis, and Colonel David D. Barrett of the United States Army performed the military analysis. The mission explored possible plans for cooperation against the Japanese. The Americans had a presence in Yan'an from 1944 to 1947.

Later history

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 decided to pull out. From then until their capture of Beijing they were usually based somewhere else, often with a mobile headquarters.

Geography and climate

Yan'an is located in northern Shaanxi on the south-central part of the Loess Plateau, with latitude spanning 35°21′–37°31′ N and longitude 107°41′–110°31′ E. It borders Yulin to the north, Xianyang, Tongchuan, and Weinan of the Guanzhong to the south, Linfen and Lüliang (Shanxi) to the east, and Qingyang (Gansu) to the west. Elevations generally increase from southeast to northwest, and the average elevation is over 1,000 m (3,280 ft).

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 −5.5 °C (22.1 °F) in January to 23.1 °C (73.6 °F) in July, and the annual mean is 9.90 °C (49.8 °F). The area receives 511 millimetres (20.1 in) of precipitation. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 49% in September to 64% in January, the city receives 2,449 hours of bright sunshine per year.

Transportation

• Yan'an Ershilipu Airport
• G65 Baotou–Maoming Expressway
• China National Highway 210

Education

• China Yan'an Executive Leadership Academy: training on revolutionary traditions and conditions in the country

See also

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

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yan'an.

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

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