Have you heard of Yan’an (延安)? If you have, have you visited Yan’an?
It was by chance that I visited Yan’an in the summer of 2016. The year before, I attended the Shanghai Congress of the Head and Neck Radiology (as an invited speaker). It all started there – and an additional trip to Shenyang in the frigid depth of winter, four months later.
During one of the faculty dinners, Professor Li Heng-guo (李恒国) came late. I asked him why he was so late. He replied, “I just finished with a seminar in Yan’an – I teach Chinese Communist Party (CCP) philosophy to new cadres.” The society’s president asked me whether I had visited Yan’an before, and I replied, “No.” He responded, “After our conference next year, we will arrange for you to visit Yan’an.
Yan’an was the endpoint of the Long March (1934-1935) – a 9000 km retreat the CCP made from the pursuing army of the Nationalist Party (Kuomintang, 国民党). This remote, poor area on an eroded loess plateau became the centre of revolution and war against the Japanese. Contemporary Yan’an (population 2.3 million) itself is a relatively minor place. However, the area around the city is home to 445 former sites of the CCP’s early revolutionary activities and boasts 30 revolution-themed museums. This place is very popular with domestic tourists. In contrast, it has fallen off the radar-screen of foreigners. I did not see any Westerners. Revolution-themed tourism is today an essential part of the economy and a place for “Red Education.”
My host provided me with a guide and a chauffeured car throughout my stay in Yan’an. Everything was prearranged and provided. The first place I visited was the Zaoyuan Revolutionary Site (枣园革命旧址). It was originally the private garden and manor of a local warlord.
At the entrance of the site are the five imposing bronze statues of the five secretaries of the CCP Central Committee (from left to right) Ren Bishi （任弼时）, Zhou Enlai （周恩来）, Mao Zedong （毛泽东）, Liu Shaoqi （刘少奇）and Zhu De （朱德）. You can see them striding confidently forward to reunite and rebuild a new China.
The site’s primary focus was the restored former residences of CCP leaders and the assembly hall where the leaders held their meetings. It became the seat of the CCP Secretariat – which determined the future development of China (including the Chinese Civil War against the Kuomintang and the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression).
I went through the historical site slowly, absorbing the significance of the structures and displays. Now and then, I stood back to reflect and marvel at the revolutionists’ courage and their commitment in pursuit of an idea and an ideal. They have done much for modern China – they rebuilt a fragmented country and freed her from foreign occupation. Yes, they have all left deep footprints on the sands of time.
A Psalm of Life
…Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again…
HW Longfellow
To be continued Part 2
Vince
Dr Vincent Chong is a retired Professor of Radiology at Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore.
