Things To Do in Yan an

Built in the Song dynasty and renovated in the 1950s, the 44m (144-ft.) Bao Pagoda, which can be seen from anywhere in the city, is a national symbol of China. The structure is located on a hill on the southeast side of the Yan River and offers excellent views of the city and nearby…

During the months after the Long March when the Communist Party first arrived in Yan'an, it chose this site for its headquarters. Of greatest interest are the cave dwellings of Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and Zhu De, who lived here between 1937 and 1938. Brick floors, simple wooden…

A 5-minute walk south of Geming Jinianguan is the site of the general office of the Eighth Route Army and headquarters of the CCP Central Military Commission from 1937 to 1947. Mao, Zhu De, Zhou Enlai, and other top brass also lived here at various times. In March 1947, as the…

The Communist pantheon of Mao, Zhu De, Zhou Enlai, and Liu Shaoqi all lived here at one time or another, but this was also the site of the famous Yan'an Forum on Literature and Art in May 1942. The forum, in which Mao argued that art and literature should serve the people, was to…