Pagoda Hill

Pagoda Hill is the postcard of Yan'an: a nine-story Tang-dynasty pagoda on the hill above town, where Mao Zedong and the Red Army made their headquarters from 1937 to 1947. For a generation of Chinese, this silhouette is what 'revolution' looked like - and the hilltop views over the modern city make the history legible.\n\nForeign visitors come for the story that defined modern China: the Long March's end, the caves, the cadres, the years that turned a dusty border town into the birthplace of the People's Republic. The pagoda glows gold after dark, and the hillside paths are quiet enough to feel the weight of it. Combine with the nearby revolutionary sites and the cave dwellings at Zaoyuan for a full day.