[2] In 1969, Xi Jinping was sent to work in Liangjiahe Village [zh], Wen'anyi, Yanchuan County, as part of Mao Zedong's Down to the Countryside Movement.

[5]: 10 In December 206 CE, Xiang Yu appointed Dong Yi to rule the area under a newly organized Zhai state [zh].

[5]: 10  However, it quickly fell under control of the Han dynasty, which resumed administering the area as Gaonu County in the Shang Commandery in August of the following year.

[5]: 12 In 660, Bai Tieyu [zh], a Jihu Buddhist from Yanchuan County, proclaimed himself Holy Emperor of the Guangming (Chinese: 光明圣皇帝; pinyin: Guāngmíng Shèng Huángdì), and started a local rebellion.

[5]: 12  Bai experienced moderate military success, and his supported also occupied nearby Chengping County in Suizhou in April 683 CE.

[5]: 15  In June 1630, the government of Yan'an Fu sent military leaders Zhang Nian [zh] and Dusi Aimu (Chinese: 都司艾穆) to put down the rebellion.

[5]: 17 Upon the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912, the new government ordered local officials to rid themselves of the queue hairstyle required by the Qing dynasty and encourage common folk to follow.

[5]: 17  On February 16, 1916, bandit leader Gao Huozi (Chinese: 高豁子) set off from Wayaobao to the county, and passed through Yongping, where he robbed locals partaking in a traditional yangge dance.

[5]: 17  In February 1917, a military party led by local warlord Guo Jian [zh] passed through the region en route to Yulin, and briefly resided in the center of Yanchuan County.

[5]: 17  On February 14, 1918, government general Dang Zhongzhao (Chinese: 党仲昭) led an operation to hunt down a large group of bandits in the region.

[5]: 18  The following year, three students who went to secondary school in nearby Suide County became the first residents of Yanchuan to join the Chinese Communist Party.

[5]: 18 Westernization reforms continued during this time, with a county magistrate campaign to prevent foot binding and a primary school for women both being established in 1926.

[5]: 21  On May 27, a large Red Army contingency headed by Liu Zhidan arrived in the village of Tuojiachuan (Chinese: 拓家川村), where they began preparations to take the county center.

[5]: 22  In mid-September, numerous military divisions exiled from Southern China as part of the Long March arrived in the area, marking the end of their journey.

[5]: 22 Communist forces in the area began their civil reforms during the latter half of 1935, including constructing a textile factory, establishing a hospital, and prosecuting former landlords in trials.

[5]: 22 At the end of 1935, Communist leader Zhou Enlai organized a meeting of four nearby county governments in Yanchuan to prepare for the Eastern Expedition [zh],[5]: 22–23  a failed military campaign against the Nationalist Army.

Red Army forces partaking the Eastern Expedition, led by Mao Zedong, passed through Yanchuan County in January and February 1936.

[5]: 24 In December 1937, a 40 kilometres (25 mi) road connecting the village of Wangjiatun (Chinese: 王家屯村) in Yanchuan to the town of Yaodian [zh] in Yan'an's urban center (present-day Baota District) was completed.

[5]: 25  Following this, various groups throughout the county, including guerilla fighters and security officers, collaborated to arrest 39 of the bandits supposedly responsible for the episode.

[5]: 26  A textile factory was built in late June, a girl's primary school was opened in August, and a government committee to improve salt transportation was established in December.

[5]: 28 With the resumption of the Chinese Civil War following the defeat of Japan, a number of prominent Communist Party figures visited Yanchuan County, and fighting resumed in the area.

[5]: 28–29  On the morning of March 19, Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai hid in the village of Liujiaqu (Chinese: 刘家渠村) in Yanchuan County as part of their escape from advanced Nationalist forces which now occupied Yan'an's center.

[5]: 29  Nationalist troops, led by Hu Zongnan, successfully captured Yanchuan County's center at 2 pm on March 29, forcing the Communist Party government to flee.

[5]: 36 Heavy rainfall led to flooding on July 5, 1964, destroying an oil well in Yongping, and the Guaimao Bridge (Chinese: 拐峁大桥).

[6] During the Cultural Revolution, a number of young people associated with the urban bourgeois elites of the Communist Party were sent to Yanchuan County and other rural regions as part of the Down to the Countryside Movement.

[5]: 38  Sometime in 1969, current General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping was sent to Yanchuan County as part of the movement, where he performed manual labor for seven years.

[5]: 40  By the end of 1972, all 32 kilometres (20 mi) of the Xibao Highway (Chinese: 西包公路), which connected Xi'an with Baotou, that passed through Yanchuan County was paved with asphalt.

[5]: 42 In December 1981, police captured, arrested, and executed a serial killer named Li Tailiang (Chinese: 李太亮), who they believed to be responsible for four homicides.

[7] Major sites include the Qiankunwan Scenic Area, the former home of writer Lu Yao, the Red Army Eastern Expedition Memorial Hall, and the village of Liangjiahe [zh].

According to official accounts, he was made to do intense manual labor, and live in a yaodong, a type of cave dwelling common throughout the region.