UNDERSTAND CHINA · MODERN HISTORY
Yan’an
After the Long March reached northern Shaanxi in 1935, the Communist centre entered Yan’an in early 1937 and left in March 1947. Cave dwellings, institutions, schools, newspapers, arts and border-region government formed a wartime revolutionary city whose influence far exceeded its size.
City timeline
- 1935—1937 · Long March and central arrival — The northern Shaanxi base became a new revolutionary centre.
- 1937—1938 · War and influx — Schools, media and political-military institutions expanded rapidly.
- 1939—1942 · Production, Rectification and arts debate — Material hardship and organisational construction reshaped daily life.
- 1945 · Seventh CPC Congress — The organisational and political practices of the Yan’an period were systematically reviewed and codified.
- 1947—1948 · Evacuation, mobile war and recovery — The Communist centre evacuated in March 1947 and Nationalist forces occupied Yan’an; the leadership moved through northern Shaanxi before Yan’an was recovered in April 1948.
Begin with these places
- Phoenix Hill, Yangjialing and Zaoyuan sites — Follow the sequence of institutional relocation and urban growth.
- Lu Xun Academy of Arts site — Connect wartime arts, education and political mobilisation.
- Yan’an Revolutionary Memorial Hall — Build a national-local timeline for 1935–1948.