The town of Bao'an appears in many contemporaneous works and articles discussing the Chinese Civil War.

The historical significance of the town of Bao'an arises due to its having temporarily served as the capital of the Communist-held regions of China in the midst of the Chinese Civil War.

Journalist Edgar Snow visited the communist leaders in Bao'an in the summer and fall of 1936, and named the third part of his book Red Star Over China after this town.

[5] He described the town as follows: Pao An was once a frontier stronghold... Remains of its fortifications, flame-struck in that afternoon sun, could be seen flanking the narrow pass through which once emptied into this valley the conquering legions of the Mongols.

There was an inner city, still, where the garrisons were once quartered; and a high defensive masonry, lately improved by the Reds, embraced about a square mile in which the present town was located.