Yan'an is only a prefecture-level city in Shaanxi, but it is well known to people across the country! The special era has created its special status. This is a place where many great people have stayed. It is legendary and mysterious.
And you only know that this is Yan'an, but you don't know where the name Yan'an came from! Perhaps, even many locals in Yan’an don’t know it!
Follow me and explore this culturally significant place name!
Yan'an used to be called Yanzhou instead of Yan'an. It was a very important military route. It is located between the three mountains of Baota Mountain, Qingliang Mountain and Fenghuang Mountain, and at the intersection of Yanhe River and Fenchuan River. It is located in the Shanbang River. It is a typical chokepoint in ancient times. So it is also called "stuffing the throat". "Three Qin is the key, five is the throat" describes the importance of Yanzhou.
Since it is a military fortress, wars cannot be avoided. There is no peace here. Therefore, in the Sui Dynasty, in order to stabilize the border areas and not fight so many wars and make the people suffer, the court changed the names of the border areas to include the word "an", hoping that the word "an" would bring Come to peace and stability.
Therefore, Yanzhou was changed to Yan'an! Drawing inferences from one example, Xi'an is actually the same.
Although it is unreliable to bring peace and stability by changing the name, it gave the people at that time a positive expectation and gave the people at that time some comfort.
Now Yan'an has long become a safe and healthy city. It is not only a red tourist resort, but also a city of delicious food with aroma. If you come to Yan'an, you must try the contemporary food here~feel the excitement of Yan'an.