CITY · SHAANXI
Yan'an
延安 · Yán'ān
Overview
Loess plateau city; the Communist Party's wartime capital from 1937 to 1947. The substantive site of revolutionary-tourism in northwest China; cave dwellings (yaodong), the Yan'an Pagoda Mountain, and the Forum on Literature and Art site.
Yan'an, in the loess plateau hills of northern Shaanxi, was the headquarters of the Chinese Communist Party from 1937 (after the Long March) until 1947. The decade of substantive policy-formation, ideological consolidation, and Yan'an Forum on Literature and Art (1942) here shaped the post-1949 PRC. The yaodong cave dwellings — cut into the loess hillsides and used as both housing and party offices — are preserved as a substantive memorial site.
Yan'an Pagoda Mountain (Baota Shan), with its Tang-era pagoda overlooking the city, is the city's geographic centre. Around the city, the Hukou Falls of the Yellow River (130 km east) and the Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor (170 km southwest) are the major regional sights.
What to see
- Yan'an Revolutionary Memorial Hall and the cave dwellings
- Pagoda Mountain (Baota Shan)
- Hukou Falls of the Yellow River
- Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor (Huangdi Ling)
- Wangjiaping Revolutionary Site
What to eat
- Shaanxi noodles (the same biangbiang and saozi noodles as Xi'an, with regional variants)
- Yan'an millet porridge
- Loess-plateau lamb stew
Getting there
Yan'an Nanniwan (ENH) airport. HSR Xi'an 2h, Beijing 6h.
Getting around
Bus + Didi.
Where to stay
Central Yan'an.
We list neighbourhoods, not specific hotels — we don't endorse hotels.
When to go
May–June, September–October.
Budget guide (CNY per day)
| Backpacker | ¥220 |
| Mid-range | ¥480 |
| Comfortable | ¥1100 |
Nearby attractions
Food of Northwestern China
- Biangbiang Noodlesbiáng biáng 面
Wide, hand-pulled, belt-shaped Shaanxi noodles. The 'biang' character is the most complex in the Chinese language.
- Big Plate Chicken大盘鸡
A large-portioned Xinjiang braised chicken dish with potatoes, peppers and thick hand-pulled belt noodles.
- Hand-Grasped Lamb手抓羊肉
Large bone-in lamb pieces boiled in spiced water and eaten by hand — a communal dish of Inner Mongolia and the northwest.
- Laghman (Hand-Pulled Noodles with Lamb)拉条子
Uyghur hand-pulled wheat noodles with a lamb-and-vegetable sauce of tomato, pepper and onion.
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