Huang Hua (left) and Mao Zedong welcome General Zhang Zhizhong (third from left, second row) from Kuomintang and US ambassador to China Patrick Hurley (second from left, second row) on Aug 27, 1945, at Yan'an airport in Shaanxi. Zhang, Chiang Kai-shek's representative, and Hurley flew to Yan'an to accompany Mao to Chongqing for negotiations to avoid a civil war. Huang Hua, a veteran statesman, former foreign minister, vice-premier and vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, died on Wednesday at the age of 98. [photo/by John Colling]