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Yanan Travel Guide

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  • Date Garden, Yanan
    Date Garden, Yanan
  • Yangjialing, Yanan
    Yangjialing, Yanan
  • Huangdi Mausoleum, Yanan
    Huangdi Mausoleum, Yanan
  • The Pagoda Hill, Yanan
    The Pagoda Hill, Yanan
  • Yanan City
    Yanan City
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 Facts
Phone Code: 0911
Postal Code: 716000
Area: 37,029 Sq km (14,296.9 Sq miles)
Population: 2,187,009 (in 2010)
Nationalities: Han, Mongolian, Tibetan, Yi, Hui, Uigur, Miao, Zhuang, Manchu, Chaoxian, Yao, Dai
Neighboring Areas: Shanxi, Henan, Hubei, Sichuan, and Gansu Provinces; Ningxia Hui and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Regions
Location: Located in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, in the central-south part of the Loess Plateau and in the northern part of Shaanxi Province, Yanan connects Yulin City in the north, joins up with Xianyang, Tongchuan and Weinan in the south, faces Linfen and Lvliang cities of Shanxi Province across the Yellow River in the east, and neighbors Qingyang City of Gansu Province in the west.

 Physical Features: Known for its loess hills, Yanan is deeply covered with various loess landforms such as tableland, loess slips, hanging valleys, sinkholes and bridges. The Yellow River, Weihe River and Luohe River flow through the city, providing plenty of water resources. 

Yanan Map
 History: According to the archeological discoveries, Yan'an was already inhabited by late Homo sapiens around 30,000 years ago. In 13th century BC, Emperor Wuding of the Shang Dynasty (17th - 11th Century BC) launched a war against the Guifang State that Yanan belonged to, the earliest reference to Yanan in Chinese history. From the Spring and Autumn Period (770 - 476BC) till the Warring States Period (476 - 221BC), the area was occupied by nomandic tribes like Qianghu and Baidi. In the Qin Dynasty (221- 207BC), Gaolu County was set up here with the first official government in the area. Thereafter, many other official governments were set up in Yanan, but the most well-known is the seat of Chinese communist government, known as the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region. The present Yanan City was finally approved in 1972.

 Attractions: Yanan is one of the cradles of Chinese civilization. The Mausoleum of Huangdi, the legendary founder of the Chinese nation, is on the summit of the Qiaoshan Mountain in Yanan. Known as the holy place of Chinese revolution, Yanan attracts tourists both for its unique loess landscapes and revolutionary sites. Hukou Waterfalls on the Yellow River is the most magnificent yellow waterfall in the world; the charming Wanhua Mountain is covered with brilliant wild peony; Luochuan loess tableland is the extraordinary workmanship of nature; the well-known Date Garden, Yangjialing, Nanniwan and Pagoda Hill are red holy places, recording our ancestors’ selfless struggles for China’s revolutionary industry. In addition, the flavor of the loess country is also worth savoring, such as Xintianyou (Shanbei folk song), waist drum, paper-cutting and peasant painting.

 Transportation
 Air: Located at Dong Er’shilipu in the east of the city, Yanan Airport mainly operates flights to domestic cities like Xian, Beijing, Taiyuan and Guangzhou. There are special airport shuttle running between the airport and the city. Public city Bus No. 5 is another choice.
 Train: Yanan Railway Station has two regular trains to Xian daily. From the station, thre are also direct trains to Beijing, Shijiazhuang, Zhengzhou, Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuxi, Suzhou, Yulin, Shenmu and Ankang.   


 Bus: With the National Highway 210 and Baotou-Maoming Expressway crossing though, the city is closely connected with Yulin and Baotou in the north and Xian in the south by road. From the two major bus stations Yanan Long-distance Bus Station and the South Bus Station, there are dozens of buses leaving for the cities inside and outside Shaanxi Province such as Xian, Xianyang, Baoji, Linfen, Lanzhou, Baotou, Taiyuan, Beijing and Shijiazhuang. Since Yanan is not big, there are only 22 public bus routes in the city, of which 10 are running in the city and the other 12 are running to the suburban areas.
 Taxi: The flag-down fare of the taxis in the city is CNY 5 and additional CNY 1.3 per km exceeding 3 km (1.9 miles).

 Weather: Yanan is a good summer resort, and the traditional cave dwellings are ideal lodging places for the coolness in summer and warmness in winter. A large-scale Yangko Festival is held in Yanan on the 15th day of every January in the lunar calendar. Thus, from July to September and right before-and-after the Spring Festival are the peak time for visiting Yanan.

 Dining and Shopping
Located on the Loess Plateau, Yanan enjoys plenty of sunshine and big temperature difference between the day and night. Thus, it is amenable to the production of a great variety of long-growing-period local agricultural products, providing the materials for various nutritious and tasty local dishes and snacks. The most popular local snacks and dishes are You Gao (Deep Fried Cake), Liang Fen (Bena Jelly), Qiao Mian He Le (Buckwheat Vermicelli), Yang Yu Cha Cha (Streamed and Stir-Fried Potato Slice), Mi Zhi Nan Gua (Honeydew Pumpkin) and Qian Qian Fan (Planished Black Bean Porridge). Restaurants and food stores are scattered everywhere of the city, but most concentrated in Er’Daojie.

Owning to its geographical position, Yanan produces various fruit, beans, forest products and medicinal herbs, including apples, Chinese dates, millet, pears, soybeans, mung beans, peas, kidney beans, chestnut, walnut, mushroom, Chai Hu (Radix Bupleuri) and Sha Ji (Hippophae rhamnoides). Qiaomai (Buckwheat), mutton and Dijiaocao (Thymus Mongolicus Ronn) together are known as the 'Three Treasures of Yanan' because of their rich nutritional value. There are also local handicrafts catering to part of the visitors’ interests such as purple clay ceramics, paper-cutting, peasant paintings, New Year pictures, wood engravings, root carvings and embroideries. The main shopping areas are Yanan Department Store, Zhongyan International and Lirong Building.  

Questions & Answers on Yanan Travel Guide

  • Asked By noor ul haque (Pakistan) | Sep. 25, 2017 01:03
    1 AnswerAnswer Question
  • We will arrive in Yan'an by train, at approximately 5AM, Apr 24. We would like a car and driver to meet us at the train station, then drive directly to Hukou Falls, and the Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor on the way back to our Yan'an hotel (already booked). On Apr 25, we would like that same driver to take us to the Communist HQ sites, then to the train station in the afternoon. If possible, we prefer that the driver speak some English, and not smoke. The average daily "approximate price is about CNY350-CNY400 per car"...

    Asked By Dan Shipley (USA) | Feb. 20, 2016 23:33
    1 AnswerAnswer Question
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