Yueyang Tower Scenic Area is located at No. 60 Dongting North Road, Yueyang Tower District, Yueyang City, Hunan Province. It is an important part of the national key scenic area of Yueyang Tower and Dongting Lake. In September 2011, the Yueyang Tower - Junshan Island Scenic Area was officially approved as a national 5A-level tourist attraction by the National Tourism Scenic Area Quality Grade Evaluation Committee. Covering an area of 670 mu, the scenic area is divided into a closed management zone for cultural relic protection and a public welfare open leisure zone. The core building of the scenic area, Yueyang Tower, stands on the top of the ancient West Gate of Yueyang City, facing Dongting Lake and embracing the Yangtze River with a magnificent momentum. Yueyang Tower is a three-story, four-column, overhanging-eaves, helmet-shaped pure wood structure, with a height of 19.42 meters, a depth of 14.54 meters and a width of 17.42 meters. It is supported by four nanmu golden pillars with a diameter of 46 centimeters, 12 wooden corridor pillars and 24 wooden eave pillars. Beams are placed on the pillars and columns are erected on the beams, all constructed by tenon-and-mortise joints.
Historical Culture
The predecessor of Yueyang Tower is said to be the "Military Review Tower" of Lu Su, a famous general of the Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms Period, with a history of nearly 1,800 years. It was called "Baling City Tower" during the Western Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. After Li Bai, a poet of the mid-Tang Dynasty, wrote poems about it, it was officially named "Yueyang Tower". At this time, Baling City had been renamed Yueyang City, and Baling City Tower was also renamed Yueyang Tower accordingly.
Before the Tang Dynasty, Yueyang Tower was mainly used for military purposes. Since the Tang Dynasty, it has gradually become a resort for tourists and literati of all dynasties to visit, recite poems and compose fu. Meng Haoran's "The mist shrouds the Yunmeng Marsh, and the waves shake Yueyang City", Li Bai's "Standing on the tower, I overlook the whole Yueyang, and the rivers wind away as Dongting Lake spreads out", Du Fu's "Wu and Chu are split in the southeast, and heaven and earth float day and night" are all masterpieces handed down through the ages. However, Yueyang Tower really became famous all over the world after Teng Zijing rebuilt it and Fan Zhongyan wrote "Notes on Yueyang Tower" in the Northern Song Dynasty. Teng Zijing was demoted to the governor of Yuezhou in the fourth year of Qingli (1044 AD). He began to rebuild 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 wrote the famous "Notes on Yueyang Tower" which has been passed down through the ages. The full text has more than 360 characters, among which the sentence "Be the first to worry about the country's troubles and the last to enjoy its happiness" is widely recited. Since then, the tower has become famous for the article, and the article has been spread because of the tower, making both the article and the tower renowned in the world.
Through the vicissitudes of time, Yueyang Tower has suffered numerous floods and wars, been destroyed and rebuilt many times, with more than 30 recorded renovations in history. The latest major renovation was a full-frame overhaul completed in 1984, following the shape and structure of the building constructed in the sixth year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty (1880 AD) 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. It has a simple and dignified structure and a grand and solemn momentum. The settings, decorations and patterns on the three floors are of different styles. The carved screen of "Notes on Yueyang Tower" hanging on the second floor is extremely precious, from Fan Zhongyan's article to the calligraphy of Zhang Zhao, a calligrapher of the Qing Dynasty. Climbing Yueyang Tower, you can overlook the beautiful scenery of the 800-li Dongting Lake.
Sanzui Pavilion
Located on the right side of Yueyang Tower, it echoes the Langyin Pavilion on Junshan Island in the distance. Its name is derived from the legend that Lü Dongbin got drunk three times at Yueyang Tower. It underwent a full-frame renovation from October 1975 to September 1977, covering an area of 135.7 square meters. It is square in plane, 9 meters high, with a two-story double-eave gable and hip roof, showing a typical architectural style of the Song Dynasty. A screen was added on the first floor, with a traditional Chinese painting of Lü Dongbin lying drunk on it.
Xianmei Pavilion
The current pavilion was rebuilt in 1979 according to its original appearance with a full-frame overhaul. It covers an area of 44 square meters, with a total height of 7 meters. It is hexagonal, of pure wood structure, with two layers of eaves. The eaves corners are raised high, covered with green glazed tiles, exquisite and elegant, setting off the ancient tower beautifully.
Huai Fu Pavilion
Covering an area of 40 square meters and 6.5 meters high, it is a square reinforced concrete structure with four columns. The caisson ceiling on the top is painted with colorful patterns, which is exquisitely decorated. In 1962, to commemorate the 1,250th anniversary of Du Fu's birth, Yueyang built this pavilion here.
Stele Corridor
Starting from the vertical axis of Yueyang Tower, the stele corridor extends eastward to the wall, then northward along the wall, forming an "L" shape with a total length of 97.2 meters, which is a corridor style. It displays a total of 158 steles, including 134 selected steles of poems and calligraphy about Yueyang Tower from past dynasties, and 24 chronological steles about the renovation of Yueyang Tower since the Ming and Qing dynasties. The contents are displayed in four parts, covering Fan Zhongyan's "Notes on Yueyang Tower" handwritten by ancient famous scholars, contemporary carved steles, miscellaneous steles, etc. The steles present a variety of literary styles and different calligraphic styles, integrating various calligraphic arts such as regular script, cursive script, running script, seal script and clerical script in one corridor.
Tomb of Xiao Qiao
The garden is full of green cypresses, bamboos, privets and camphor trees. There is a screen wall at the entrance. The front side is the handwriting of Su Dongpo: "Recalling the past, when Zhou Lang was in his prime, Xiao Qiao had just married him, and he looked heroic and handsome", and the back side is inscribed with "Records of Rebuilding Xiao Qiao's Tomb". In front of the tomb, there is a "Huan Xuan" (Joy Pavilion). Inside the pavilion stands a statue of Xiao Qiao, displaying historical materials and calligraphy and painting works related to Xiao Qiao.
Tour Route
It is recommended that tourists enter from the scenic area gate, first go to Yueyang Tower, climb the tower to enjoy the scenery of Dongting Lake and feel the historical charm; then visit the carved screen of "Notes on Yueyang Tower" on the second floor. Then go to Sanzui Pavilion to learn about the legendary stories behind it. Next, go to Xianmei Pavilion to appreciate the architectural characteristics of the pavilion. After that, go to Huai Fu Pavilion to pay tribute to Du Fu. Walk along the Stele Corridor to enjoy the steles from past dynasties. Finally, visit the Tomb of Xiao Qiao to feel the historical and cultural atmosphere. It is recommended to arrange 3-4 hours for the whole tour. Tourists can make appropriate adjustments according to their own interests and time.
Tour Suggestions
- Learn about the historical culture and related poems of Yueyang Tower in advance to better feel its charm during the tour.
- Choose a sunny day to visit to facilitate enjoying the beautiful scenery of Dongting Lake.
- You can bring your own drinking water. It is also available for sale in the scenic area, but the price may be slightly higher.
- If you are interested in calligraphy, you can stay longer in the Stele Corridor to appreciate the steles.
Notes
- Some buildings in the scenic area are cultural relics and historic sites. Do not touch or carve on them, and abide by the scenic area protection regulations.
- When visiting high places such as Yueyang Tower, pay attention to safety and do not lean on the railings.
- There are many tourists during the peak tourist season. Please take good care of your personal belongings.
- Respect the staff and other tourists in the scenic area and travel in a civilized manner.
Transportation
- External Transportation:
- Airplane: Yueyang Sanhe Airport is a certain distance from the urban area. You can take the airport bus to the urban area at the airport, then transfer to a bus or take a taxi to the scenic area.
- Train: Both Yueyang Station and Yueyang East Station have trains stopping. From Yueyang Station, you can take multiple buses 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 the main way to visit is on foot.
Opening Hours
From May 1st to September 30th: 07:00 - 18:30; from October 1st to April 30th of the following year: 07:30 - 18:00.
Ticket Information
The ticket price is 70 yuan per person.
You can search for the official WeChat public account "岳阳文旅公司" to get the latest updates or buy tickets online.