1949年5月9日，人民解放军第一野战军在司令员兼政委彭德怀的指挥下，开始解放大西北的战争。5月20日凌晨，第一野战军第6军冒着炮火强渡渭河，直逼西安。驻守西安的国民党第17军没有迎战，仓皇撤退。5月20日下午两点，西安正式解放。
西安市委党史研究室研究员刘士刚：当时很多战士过去的时候，下面河底是淤泥，鞋都掉到了河里面，光着脚丫子就往西安跑，那纯粹是跑步前进。
兰州一战，打通了进军青海、宁夏和河西走廊的门户，为解放新疆乃至整个西北地区铺平了道路。这条路，也是千千万万的战士用他们的热血和生命换来的，时任第一野战军第6军第16师某部指导员赵予征永远也不会忘记战友姚福禄在自己眼前牺牲的那一刻。
正是一个个像姚福禄一样的解放军战士的浴血奋战和英勇牺牲，换来了陕西、甘肃、宁夏和青海的先后解放。1949年9月25日，国民党新疆警备总司令陶峙岳通电起义，新疆和平解放。在新中国成立前夕，大西北全部回到了人民的怀抱。
On May 9, 1949, under the command of Commander and Political Commissar Peng Dehuai, the First Field Army of the People's Liberation Army began the war to liberate the Northwest. On the early morning of May 20th, the 6th Army of the First Field Army braved artillery fire and crossed the Wei River, approaching Xi'an directly. The Nationalist 17th Army stationed in Xi'an did not engage and hastily retreated. At 2 pm on May 20th, Xi'an was officially liberated.
Liu Shigang, a researcher at the Party History Research Office of the Xi'an Municipal Party Committee: When many soldiers passed by, the bottom of the river was muddy, and their shoes fell into the river. They ran barefoot towards Xi'an, which was purely a running forward.
Li Zhenchao, then a staff officer of the 30th Regiment of the 10th Division of the 4th Army of the First Field Army, said: "The slogan is to conquer Lanzhou City and liberate the northwest.".
It was the bloody battles and heroic sacrifices of PLA soldiers like Yao Fulu that brought about the successive liberation of Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, and Qinghai. On September 25, 1949, Tao Zhiyue, the commander-in-chief of the Nationalist Party's Xinjiang Garrison, launched a telegraph uprising, marking the peaceful liberation of Xinjiang. On the eve of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the entire Northwest region returned to the embrace of the people.
(供稿：张向阳 牛强)
