Yan'an

Yan'an 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

Northern commandery

thumb|[[Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor|Xuanyuan Temple in Huangling County]]

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, and a military base was established.

During the subsequent Tang dynasty, the area belonged to , Upon the Tang dynasty's establishment in 618 CE, three local commanderies were replaced with prefectures. 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. This underground space contained hundreds of petrified bamboos still intact with roots and trunks, "all turned to stone" as Shen wrote. 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. Nonetheless, Shen was successful in defending his fortifications and the only possible Tangut invasion-route to Yanzhou. 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 . 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. 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,

On September 6, 1937, Yan'an became the seat of the communist government of what became known as the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region.

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. 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. The Communist leadership learned of a planned attack in advance, and ultimately voluntarily withdrew from the city. 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 (). extremes

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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 NOx gases. Elevated PM_2.5 levels are linked to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, while acid deposition from SO₂ and NOx 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.

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

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Income

In 2019, urban households earned an average disposable income of 34,888 RMB, an 8.3% increase from the previous year. In addition to oil and natural gas, major industries in the city include coal mining, power generation, and cigarette production.

Retail

The total retail sales of consumer goods in Yan'an totaled 41.113 billion RMB 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.

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. The city also has 556 kindergartens, enrolling 119,500 students. The city also has 5 special education schools, serving 372 disabled students.

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.