Yan'an

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Yan'an (Chinese: 延安; pinyin: Yán'ān; Wade-Giles: Yen-an), is a city in the Shanbei region of Shaanxi province, China.

of the Long March and the center of the Chinese communist revolution from 1935 to 1948. Chinese communists celebrate Yan'an as the birthplace of the revolution.

Yan'an is currently a Prefecture-level city administering several counties, including Zhidan, formerly Bao'an, which served as the Chinese communist capital before the city of Yan'an proper took that role.

[edit] History

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. Politically, Yan'an symbolizes for many a utopian period in modern China's history where Chinese communists sought to realize their idealized vision of life, culture, and social justice, and thus stands for a former "golden age" when communist principles and ideals were actively pursued by many sincere, youthful supporters.

This idealistic view of the so-called "Yan'an Way" was one of the objects of challenge in Jung Chang's highly controversial works dealing with Chinese history.

During the Second World War, Yan'an played host to the United States Army Observation Group, also known as the Dixie Mission. A joint military and civilian mission, it was sent to establish official ties with the Communists and explore possible plans of cooperation against the Japanese. The Americans had a presence in Yan'an from 1944 to 1947.