Yueyang Tower Scenic Area is located at No. 60 Dongting North Road, Yueyanglou District, Yueyang City, Hunan Province. As an important part of the Yueyang Tower-Dongting Lake National Key Scenic and Historic Interest Area, the Yueyang Tower-Junshan Island Scenic Area was officially approved as a national 5A-level tourist attraction by the National Tourism Scenic Area Quality Rating Committee in September 2011. Covering an area of 670 mu, the scenic area is divided into a closed management area for cultural relic protection and a public open leisure area. The core building, Yueyang Tower, stands on the ancient Ximen city wall of Yueyang City, facing Dongting Lake and embracing the Yangtze River, exuding majestic momentum. Yueyang Tower is a three-story, four-column, cornice, helmet-top pure wooden structure, 19.42 meters high, 14.54 meters deep, and 17.42 meters wide. Supported by four nanmu golden columns with a diameter of 46 centimeters, 12 wooden corridor columns, and 24 wooden cornice columns, the tower uses a mortise-and-tenon construction method throughout, with beams supported by columns and columns erected on beams.
History and Culture
The predecessor of Yueyang Tower is said to be the "Yuejun Tower" (military review tower) of Lu Su, a general of the Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period, with a history of nearly 1,800 years. During the Western Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties, it was called "Baling City Tower", and after Li Bai, a poet of the mid-Tang Dynasty, composed a poem about it, it began to be known as "Yueyang Tower". At this time, Baling City had been renamed Yueyang City, and Baling City Tower was accordingly called Yueyang Tower.
Before the Tang Dynasty, Yueyang Tower was mainly used for military purposes. Since the Tang Dynasty, it gradually became a resort for tourists and refined scholars of all dynasties to sightsee and compose poems. Meng Haoran's "The mist steams Yunmeng Swamp, the waves shake Yueyang City", Li Bai's "From the tower, Yueyang is all in view; the river winds, Dongting opens wide", and Du Fu's "Wu and Chu are split southeast, the universe floats day and night" are all eternal masterpieces. However, Yueyang Tower truly became world-famous after Teng Zijing of the Northern Song Dynasty rebuilt it and Fan Zhongyan wrote the Record of Yueyang Tower. In the fourth year of the Qingli Reign (1044), Teng Zijing was demoted to Prefect of Yuezhou. He began rebuilding Yueyang Tower in the fifth year of Qingli and completed it a year later. He invited Fan Zhongyan to write a record for the tower, and Fan Zhongyan composed the eternal classic Record of Yueyang Tower. The full text of over 360 characters includes the widely be widely sentence, "Be the first to worry about the world's worries, and the last to enjoy the world's joys," making the tower famous for the text and the text famous for the tower, with both enjoying equal importance in the world.
Through the vicissitudes of time, Yueyang Tower has suffered numerous floods and wars, being destroyed and rebuilt more than 30 times in recorded history. The most recent major renovation was a complete dismantling and reconstruction in 1984, following the architectural style of the sixth year of the Guangxu Reign of the Qing Dynasty (1880) and adhering to the principle of "restoring the old as the old".
Main Attractions
Yueyang Tower
Yueyang Tower is the core attraction of the scenic area. Its structure is simple and dignified, with a grand and solemn momentum. The three floors feature different settings, decorations, and pattern styles. The carved screen of the Record of Yueyang Tower hanging on the second floor is extremely precious, from Fan Zhongyan's text to the calligraphy of Zhang Zhao, a calligrapher of the Qing Dynasty. Climbing Yueyang Tower, visitors can overlook the beautiful scenery of the 800-li Dongting Lake.
Sanzui Pavilion
To the right of Yueyang Tower, it echoes the Langyin Pavilion on Junshan Island. Its name is taken from the legend of Lü Dongbin getting drunk at Yueyang Tower three times. It was dismantled and rebuilt from October 1975 to September 1977, covering an area of 135.7 square meters, with a square plane, 9 meters high, and a two-story heavy-eave hip roof, featuring typical Song Dynasty architectural style. A building screen was added on the first floor, with a traditional Chinese painting of Lü Dongbin lying drunk.
Xianmei Pavilion
The current pavilion was dismantled and rebuilt according to the original appearance in 1979, covering an area of 44 square meters, 7 meters high, hexagonal, all-wood structure, two layers of eaves, with upturned eaves covered by green glazed tiles. It is exquisite and unique, adding luster to the ancient tower.
Huai Fu Pavilion
Covering an area of 40 square meters, 6.5 meters high, it is a four-column square reinforced concrete structure with a painted caisson ceiling and exquisite decorations. In 1962, to commemorate the 1,250th anniversary of Du Fu's birth, Yueyang built this pavilion here.
Stele Corridor
The stele corridor extends eastward from the longitudinal axis of Yueyang Tower to the wall, then northward along the wall, forming an "L" shape, 97.2 meters long, in the style of a promenade. A total of 158 steles are displayed, including 134 selected steles of poems and calligraphy about Yueyang Tower from past dynasties and 24 steles recording the renovation of Yueyang Tower since the Ming and Qing dynasties. The contents are displayed in four parts, covering handwritten Record of Yueyang Tower by ancient masters, contemporary steles, and miscellaneous steles. The steles present a variety of styles and calligraphy, gathering various calligraphy arts of regular, cursive, running, seal, and clerical scripts in one corridor.
Xiao Qiao's Tomb
The garden is planted with green cypresses, bamboo, privet, and camphor trees. A screen wall is set at the entrance, with Su Dongpo's handwriting on the front: "Thinking back to when Gongjin was young, Xiao Qiao first married, with heroic posture and brilliant spirit," and the Record of Rebuilding Xiao Qiao's Tomb engraved on the back. In front of the tomb stands "Huan Xuan" (Joyous Pavilion), where a statue of Xiao Qiao is erected, displaying historical materials and calligraphy and painting works related to Xiao Qiao.
Cuisine
Junshan Yinzhen Sliced Chicken
This dish is a characteristic food of Yueyang. It uses chicken sliced into thin pieces and cooked with Junshan Yinzhen tea. The chicken is tender and fresh, with the fragrance of tea, offering a unique flavor. Junshan Yinzhen, one of the top ten famous teas in China, is produced in Junshan. Using it in dishes allows the tea fragrance to blend into the chicken, creating a unique taste.
Baling Whole Fish Banquet
Using fresh fish from Dongting Lake as the main ingredient, it can make a banquet composed of various fish dishes. The dishes are rich and diverse, such as steamed mandarin fish, braised carp, and silver fish scrambled eggs. It fully showcases the deliciousness of Dongting Lake fish, with fresh and tender fish meat and diverse cooking methods to meet different taste needs.
Yueyang Shrimp Cake
Fresh shrimp are wrapped in batter and fried in oil. The shrimp cake is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with a fresh and fragrant taste. It is commonly found in snack stalls around the scenic area, making it a convenient food to taste local flavors.
Tickets
The ticket price is 70 yuan per person.
You can search for the official WeChat public account "岳阳文旅公司" in WeChat to get the latest updates or purchase tickets online.
Opening Hours
From May 1 to September 30, opening hours are 07:00-18:30; from October 1 to April 30 of the following year, opening hours are 07:30-18:00.
Tour Route
It is recommended that visitors, after entering from the scenic area gate, first go to Yueyang Tower to climb the tower and enjoy the scenery of Dongting Lake, feeling the historical charm; then visit the carved screen of the Record of Yueyang Tower on the second floor. Next, go to Sanzui Pavilion to learn about the legend behind it. Then go to Xianmei Pavilion to admire the architectural features of the pavilion. After that, go to Huai Fu Pavilion to pay tribute to Du Fu. Stroll along the Stele Corridor to appreciate the ancient steles. Finally, visit Xiao Qiao's Tomb to feel the historical and cultural atmosphere. The entire tour is recommended to take 3-4 hours, and visitors can adjust it appropriately according to their interests and time.
Transportation
- External Transportation:
- Airplane: Yueyang Sanhe Airport is a certain distance from the urban area. You can take an airport bus from the airport to the urban area, then transfer to a bus or take a taxi to the scenic area.
- Train: Both Yueyang Railway Station and Yueyang East Railway Station have train stops. From Yueyang Station, you can take multiple bus routes directly to the vicinity of the scenic area; from Yueyang East Station, you can transfer by bus or take a taxi to the scenic area.
- Internal Transportation: The scenic area is not large, and walking is the main way to tour.
Must-Visit Attractions
- Yueyang Tower: The only historical site among the Three Great Towers of Jiangnan that maintains the original structure of the Qing Dynasty, with exquisite architectural craftsmanship and excellent poetry. 19.42 meters high, pure wooden structure, you can climb the tower to overlook Dongting Lake and view the carved screen of the Record of Yueyang Tower.
- Sanzui Pavilion: With typical Song Dynasty architectural style, it complements Yueyang Tower and is added with the legend of Lü Dongbin, enhancing cultural heritage.
- Stele Corridor: 97.2 meters long, displaying 158 steles, integrating various styles and calligraphy arts, a precious cultural treasure.
Tour Tips
- Understand the history, culture, and related poems of Yueyang Tower in advance to better feel its charm during the tour.
- Choose a sunny day to visit for better appreciation of the beauty of Dongting Lake.
- You can bring your own drinking water; it is also sold in the scenic area, but the price may be slightly higher.
- If interested in calligraphy, spend more time in the Stele Corridor to appreciate the steles.
Precautions
- Some buildings in the scenic area are cultural relics; please do not touch or carve on them, and abide by the scenic area protection regulations.
- When touring high places like Yueyang Tower, pay attention to safety and do not lean against the railing.
- During the tourist peak season, there are many visitors; please take care of your personal belongings.
- Respect the staff and other visitors in the scenic area and travel civilly.