Qu Yuan Temple, the symbol of Zigui County in Three Gorges Area

Zigui (秭归) is located near the west mouth of Xiling Gorge of the Three Gorges, in western Hubei Province. It is said that the foundation of ancient Zigui County was made of the boulder, and the city looks like a gourd, so it is also known as Stone city or Gourd city. Zigui is a time-honored ancient town. It was formally established to be a county in the Han Dynasty’s China. Zigui area is the cradle of Chu (or Shu) culture in the Three Kingdoms Period. At the end period of Chu State, the great patriotic poet of China, Qu Yuan (屈原, 340 BC – 278 BC), was born here. His thoughts and poems played a key role in China’s cultural history. In fact, the name of Zigui County was originated from the story of the famous poet. It is said that Qu Yuan was exiled by King of Chu State due to slander, and his elder sister intentionally came back to see him, generally in southern China, she was called by her little brother as Zizi (姊姊) in dialect of southern China, and “归” (Gui) meant “return” or “come back”, therefore this place was called Zigui. Qu Yuan Temple is a symbol of Zigui and it is one of the main tourist attractions. 

Zigui is a main orange producing area in China

Having excellent natural environment, Zigui is the main producing region of oranges in Three Gorges area of China. Mineral resources are very rich too. 

Zigui is in a depression area of mountains of Daba, Wushan and Bamian. Yangtze River is flowing through the center of the county after passing Badong County in Hubei. The Zigui section of the river is 64 kilometers and it divides the county into south and north parts, where quite mountainous with a basin-like area in the county’s center. Two peaks, east and west, are 1,920 meters and 2,057 meters above sea level respectively, and the lowest point is 40 meters.