The high-speed train G359 departed from Yan'an on Monday morning, marking the first direct connection of high-speed rail from the sacred revolutionary site to the nation's capital city of Beijing.

Some 90 years ago, American journalist Edgar Snow spent nearly two days bouncing along in a truck on the bumpy road from Xi'an to the revolutionary heartland of Yan'an in northwest China. Today, the same journey takes just about one hour.

Once known for its vast stretches of shifting dunes, the Maowusu Desert is now turning green. Today, nearly 80 percent of the area has been restored. By 2020, 93.24 percent of Yulin's desertified land had been brought under control.

Sacred to China's revolution, Yan'an was where the first generation of Chinese revolutionaries, led by Mao Zedong, worked from 1936 to 1948. At a critical juncture, with Yan'an as the headquarters of the revolution, they led the people to rescue the nation from defeat and achieve liberation. This was when the "Yan'an spirit" was formed.