Yichang city

In southwest Hubei Province, Yichang city (宜昌市), originally known as Yiling (夷陵), where the Yiling Battle, one of the famous wars fought during the Three Kingdoms Period, took place. In 222 AD, Sun Quan (孙权) of Wu (吴) State and Liu Bei (刘备) of Shu (蜀) State disputed over the strategically important land of Jingzhou area (荆州, in south-central Hubei). At first, Sun Quan’s army occupied Jingzhou. The move had a negative impact to Zhuge Liang’s plan (he was the wise man in Shu State at that time), which was good for Liu Bei to unify China. Jingzhou was an essential land for him to destroy Shu and Wei (魏, where controlled by Cao Cao, 曹操) States, so he must recaptured the area. However, he failed because his army managed to capture Jingzhou in a hurry without adequate preparation. 

Yichang has 2700-year history also the cradle of ancient Ba culture and origin of Shu culture. It is the hometown of Qu Yuan (屈原), a Chinese great patriotic poet. Qu Yuan lived in the Warring States Era over 2,000 years ago, and he was suicide for his motherland invaded by other stronger power. 

Three Gorges scenery in Yichang

It is the hometown of Wang Zhaojun, who married Hun Khan in exchanging for peace and stability. It is also the destinations of many famous scholars, litterateurs, artists, poets and ideologists, who once indulged themselves in the city’s beautiful scenery. Yichang was once the place for exiling demoted officials. If you are interested in Peking Opera, you will find more specific images or characters in the story performed on stage. Yichang is undoubtedly one of the best tourism cities in China today. 

Yichang is located in the middle reaches of Yangtze River, where also known as the golden waterway, Jiaozuo-Liuzhou Railway, No. 318 National Expressway are all going across the city. It is an increasingly important position for land and water transportation. The world-famous Three Gorges Project is so near to downtown. It is the second largest city in Hubei Province after Wuhan, the provincial capital. Yichang has an area of 21,000 square kilometers with a total population of 4,149,300. 

Yichang is in subtropical monsoon and humid climate zone with four distinct seasons. Rainwater is rich especially in summer, which is very hot.