Yan'an beckons

The center of China's Communist Revolution is a magnet for tourists, especially since high-speed trains have started making such remote sites accessible

Dong Jinxian teared up as she watched a musical in Yan'an set during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45) and the Chinese Civil War (1946-49).

Yan'an Nursery tells the true story of a school that took care of the children of soldiers. Some had lost their parents and spent their childhood in the nursery. Separation, sacrifice and love play a big role in the play.

After the show, 55-year-old Dong says it was worth watching the musical, even though her tour guide had not recommended it. She had been part of a group of tourists visiting the city in April from Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province.

"I didn't expect the play would be so touching," Dong says.

"The music, lights and acting were all excellent, which I didn't expect in a performance in this poor and remote city."

Yan'an is a prefecture-level city in Shaanxi. It was near the endpoint of the Long March (1934-35), and became the center of the Communist Revolution from 1936 to 1948.

For many Chinese of Dong's age, visiting Yan'an is a dream. Until recently, Yan'an was not easily accessible because of a lack of good transportation links.

High-speed trains now connect Yan'an with several cities, bringing increasing number of tourists. From Yan'an it takes just 10 minutes to Xianyang, the ancient capital of China during the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC); 30 minutes to Huashan Mountain; one hour to Baoji city; two hours to Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province; and five hours to Beijing.

The number of daily passenger arrivals in Yan'an by train has gone up from just 4,000 in 2010 to nearly 47,000 now.

Railway authorities are also working to expand the network to other areas in China's western region.

"Without high-speed trains, townships are like scattered pearls. Now they have become a beautiful pearl necklace," says Liu Shengrong, director of the Xi'an railway bureau.

The western region has six provinces, five autonomous regions and the municipality of Chongqing. Twenty-eight percent of the country's population lives there. The regions' beautiful mountains, deserts and highlands have been luring tourists for years, but its challenging geographical location has resulted in slower economic development. In recent years, high-speed trains have helped narrow the gap between the east and the west.

By the end of 2014, trains connecting Lanzhou and Urumqi, Guiyang and Guangzhou, and Nanning and Guangzhou were launched.

The launch of Lanzhou-Xinjiang services has sparked renewed interest in the ancient Silk Road, bringing unprecedented numbers of tourists to the provinces of Gansu and Qinghai, as well as to the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

The Shanghai-Kunming high-speed railway, which has just been completed, shortens the distance between Shanghai and Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, to about nine hours. Guiyang, capital of Guizhou province, and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region are also now connected, thanks to the opening of fast rail links.

More attractions

In the past, when tourists came to Yan'an, they usually went to caves where Chairman Mao Zedong and other Communist leaders lived during the fateful years of the revolution. There was not much else to see.

To attract more tourists to Yan'an and accelerate the area's economic development, the local government has been encouraging companies to create more interesting tourism-oriented projects.

Yan'an Nursery is one such project. Produced by Yan'an Tang Dynasty Cultural and Catering Co Ltd, it debuted in 2012.

Guo Xiaoqiang, deputy general manager of the company, says the musical has been attracting a lot of tourists.

"In 2015, up to 150,000 people watched the play. I expect that number will grow to 200,000 this year," he says. "The play enriches the tourist experience when they visit Yan'an.

"At the beginning, when the play was shown, there were only 20 to 30 people in a theater with 680 seats. The company asked tourist agencies to watch the show and we signed cooperation agreements with agencies to bring more tourists."

Tickets cost between 198 yuan ($31; 27 euros) and 298 yuan.

Ticket proceeds do not yet cover the company's operation costs. The show lost 10 million yuan last year, but officials are working on taking the play to other cities in the country, which would generate more revenue.

Shaanxi is also developing other areas to attract more tourists. For one, it has invested millions of yuan in Danfeng's Dihua town, which has ancient-style buildings, says Zhang Wei, director of the administrative committee of the site.

Danfeng is the birthplace of novelist Jia Pingwa. Some of his relatives are still living in his old house. Dihua town is built around the house.

Cui Jiajia, a 20-year-old tourist who loves literature, says she went to Danfeng to visit the writer's house and didn't expect to see a large, beautiful lake full of lotus flowers.

"I planned to spend an hour or two here," Cui says. "But I spent a whole day here as a result of Dihua town's stores with local food, its good scenery and natural environment."

Zhang says the authority is working on the second phase of the site, which will be able to provide hotel services for tourists who want to stay in the area.

"We are also cooperating with other tourist sites near us, including sites that offer mountain climbing and drifting, which will give tourists colorful activities when they come to the region," he says.

Contact the writers through dujuan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 05/13/2016 page19)