[5]: 5 [6] Following the collapse of the Qin in 206 BCE, as part of Xiang Yu's attempted rebellion, Gaonu County briefly was held by rebel forces.

[5]: 6 An imperial edict from Emperor Wu in 120 BCE forced approximately 700,000 poor peasants to migrate to the Shaanbei region, resulting in a period of significant agricultural development.

[5]: 7 In 582 CE, a number of prominent Göktürk leaders, including Tardu Khagan, Apa Khaghan, and Tanhan Khargan [zh], led an army of approximately 400,000 Göktürks to invade the Sui dynasty.

[5]: 7 In 633 CE, under Tang rule, the Yanhua Canal (Chinese: 延化渠) was dug out in Yanzhou to better conserve water in the region, and to help irrigate crops.

[5]: 8  In 765 CE, while travelling through the region to migrate to an area less afflicted by the conflict, famous poet Du Fu spent a night in Qilipu (Chinese: 七里铺), in what is now the southern portion of Baota District.

[5]: 8  Local Tangut leader Li Jipeng [zh], who ruled over a population of over 50,000 households, visited the Song capital of Bianjing (present-day Kaifeng) in 982 CE.

[5]: 9 While serving as a military officer in Yanzhou, Song dynasty scientist Shen Kuo conducted a number of experiments with petroleum in the region, which he believed would have many uses.

[5]: 10 Chinese peasant rebel leader Li Zicheng occupied Yan'an Fu in November 1643, as part of his short-lived Shun dynasty.

[5]: 10  This episode was part of the wider Northern Chinese Famine of 1876–1879, which afflicted the Shaanbei region that year, and led to numerous documented instances of cannibalism in and around present-day Yan'an.

[5]: 11  This banditry evolved into a full-fledged revolution, and in June 1918, prominent Chinese educator and politician Yu Youren arrived in the region to partake in revolutionary activities.

[5]: 14 Beginning in February 1935, Communist Party forces began engaging in a number of military conflicts with local Mintuan [zh], pro-Nationalist militias which effectively governed the region.

[5]: 14  On February 18, Red Army forces defeated a hodgepodge of 50 Mintuan soldiers spanning from the town of Lin to neighboring Ganquan County.

[5]: 16  On August 25, 1938, Zhu De returned from the front line, and held a rally to the south of Yan'an's city gate which attracted over 10,000 people.

[5]: 16–19  During that time, the area continued to serve as the center for political rallies and war mobilizations, including some events involving the famous Eighth Route Army, as well prominent Communist leaders like Mao Zedong and Zhu De.

[5]: 17 On August 24, 1942, flash flooding along the Nanchuan River [zh], which flows through the southern portion of present-day Baota District, killed 89 people and caused immense property damage.

On July 26, 1946, Chinese pilot Liu Shanben [zh] defected from the Nationalist side, fleeing from Sichuan to Yan'an to join the Communists.

[5]: 21 The Communist Party claims that while occupying portions of Yan'an in March 1947, the Nationalist Army engaged in a white terror, targeting the local population.

[6] The newly reorganized government of Yan'an County faced a test on July 14, 1949, when an episode of hail damaged over a thousand houses, and over 18,000 mu of cropland.

[5]: 23–24 From May through July 1950, an unidentified illness swept through Liulin, Jinpenwan, Panlong, Lin, and Yan'an's urban center, killing a recorded 680 people.

Beginning in May of that year, dazibao began appearing at schools, teachers were denounced, rallies against the Three Family Village [zh] were held, and the county established a group to further promote revolutionary activities.

[5]: 29 On January 27, 1967, a "rebel faction" formed a committee to "take over" the county's political structure, and began openly criticizing local party leaders.

[5]: 30  Perhaps emboldened from that incident, an anti-government mob stormed the county's military headquarters on the night of December 10, seizing approximately 400 weapons and 1.4 million rounds of ammunition.

[5]: 31  The next year, from February 27 to March 16, the two sides engaged in open warfare, with approximately 1,000 combatants using machine guns, artillery, and other military-grade weapons to attack each other.

[5]: 30  As part of this agreement, the two sides agreed to let a unit of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) be stationed in Yan'an, and continue the san zhi liang jun campaign.

[5]: 33 On June 1, 1974, the Yan'an Nanhe Baotashan Highway Bridge (Chinese: 延安南河宝塔山公路桥; pinyin: Yán'ān Nánhé Bǎotǎshān Gōnglù Qiáo) was completed and opened to traffic.

[5]: 36 The Yan'an City Department Store (Chinese: 延安市百货大楼; pinyin: Yán'ān Shì Bǎihuò Dàlóu), a 4-story shopping complex spanning an area of 6,000 square metres (65,000 sq ft), was opened on August 1, 1983.

[5]: 43 A large-scale car crash along the Yan'an - Yichuan Highway (Chinese: 延宜公路; pinyin: Yán Yí Gōnglù) in Nanniwan on November 21, 1992, killed 24 people, and injured another 9.

[9]: 1472  Through the 2000s, the total farmland area of Baota District decreased substantially, while grassland increased significantly, and a minor growth in forested land occurred.

[13] According to the Shaanxi Provincial Local Chronicle Office (Chinese: 陕西省地方志办公室; pinyin: Shǎnxī Shěng Dìfāngzhì Bàngōngshì), there are three narrower dialect groups within Baota District.

[13] This third group is heavily influenced by migrants who came from the city of Yulin in the 1930s, and has a checked tone distinct from varieties of Zhi-Yan spoken in urban Baota District.