Yangjialing, Zaoyuan, Nanniwan: Visiting Revolutionary Holy Sites, Tracing the Footsteps of Revolutionary Forerunners' Hard Struggle
Yangjialing, Zaoyuan, Nanniwan: Visiting Revolutionary Holy Sites, Tracing the Footsteps of Revolutionary Forerunners' Hard Struggle
I first learned about Yan'an from my childhood textbooks—it was a revolutionary holy site, with the Pagoda Hill and the Yan River, a sacred place. But when I finally arrived and saw it with my own eyes, my perception was completely overturned: the Pagoda Hill and the Yan River looked far too ordinary and "pocket-sized," lacking the majesty and breadth I had imagined. Recalling the phrase "millet plus rifles," I suddenly felt like I was engaging in "revolutionary optimism."
At Yangjialing, the site of the Seventh National Congress of the Communist Party of China is a cave dwelling with a stone arch structure typical of northern Shaanxi. On the rostrum hang large portraits of Mao Zedong and Zhu De, and above the stage on the stone arch is the slogan "March forward to victory under the banner of Mao Zedong." The Seventh Congress established Mao Zedong Thought as the guiding principle for all Party work, marking the first time our Party convened a decisive congress in a building we constructed ourselves.
Zaoyuan, also known as Yan Garden, features lush trees and green grass. The Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China led the final victory of the War of Resistance against Japan from here, and Comrade Mao Zedong wrote many important articles guiding the Chinese revolution here, such as "Some Questions Concerning Methods of Leadership."
At the center of the garden is the auditorium of the Secretariat, and the cave dwellings in several courtyards were the former residences of central leaders including Mao Zedong, Zhu De, Zhou Enlai, and Liu Shaoqi. Though they appear as separate courtyards, underground passages connect them to the hillside.
"We've come to Nanniwan, a good place indeed." Sitting in front of a cave dwelling and gently turning a spinning wheel, I could vividly picture the officers and soldiers of the 359th Brigade working from dawn to dusk—reclaiming land, planting crops, raising pigs, and making charcoal, engaging in labor competitions. The once desolate "Muddy Bay" was transformed into "a Jiangnan of northern Shaanxi," with "self-reliance and hard struggle" becoming the core of the Nanniwan spirit.
Cave dwellings are the most common sight at these revolutionary sites, so on our way to the Hukou Waterfall, we also stayed in one. Before dark, the power and water were cut off, so our group simply sat outside the cave dwelling and watched the loess plateau scenery at dusk.
The loess slopes before us were crisscrossed with ravines, with vertical distances ranging from a few meters to dozens or even hundreds of meters. The only vegetation was sparse grass on the hilltops—nothing else. I truly admired the revolutionary forerunners' spirit of defying hardships and persisting in struggle.
Someone spontaneously began to sing "Loess Highland," and soon the solo turned into a chorus. Later, the team split into two groups for a singing contest, even attracting tourists from the cave dwellings on the lower level. The lively scene continued until lights appeared inside the caves.
When talking about travel anecdotes, the singing contest at the Hukou Cave Dwelling Mountain Villa is always the highlight—a lifelong beautiful memory.
