Posts Tagged Yichang
Yichang
Posted by act2009 in Three Gorges on June 22nd, 2009
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.
The Hometown of Wang Zhaojun
Posted by act2009 in Tourist Attractions on June 22nd, 2009
The statue of national heroine, Wang Zhaojun
There are two steles from the Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1911) in Zigui County, Yichang, one is for Quyuan (屈原), and the other is Wang Zhaojun (王昭君). Actually, Wang Zhaojun’s hometown is located in Xingshan County. There are many sites such as Zhaojun House, dressers and so on. There are 16 steps on the way to dressers. It means Wang Zhaojun had been lived in her hometown for 16 years.
Wang Zhaojun was born in 52 BC and one of the ancient 4 great beauties in China (alongside with Xi Shi, Diao Chan and Yang Gui Fei the concubine). She knew much about playing musical instruments, playing chess, traditional calligraphy and painting when she was very young. She contributed herself to the barbaric and invading Hun for peace and China’s national development. The Hun emperor selected her to be the maid of honor by for her beauty and versatility. It is said that the emperor used to select beauty among those young girls in the royal court by looking of the paintings; hence at that time the imperial painters were bribed by those girls except such an honest lady servant, Wang Zhaojun, and then one of painters, Mao Yanshou, deliberately uglified her and caused her to lose favoritism. In 33 BC, emperor of Hun wanted to marry a girl from the Han Dynasty, and Wang Zhaojun volunteered to be that bride. Before Wang Zhaojun left the capital, the emperor found she was so beautiful and he wanted to change his mind, but he had made decision. The emperor was so angry and he killed the painter. In fact, Wang Zhaojun has been regarded the national heroine in Chinese history.
Xiling Gorge
Posted by act2009 in Three Gorges on June 9th, 2009
A magnificent scene in Xiling Gorge, Yangtze River, China
The longest among the Yangtze River Gorges, the 76-kilometer-long Xiling Gorge (西陵峡) stretches west to east from the mouth of the Xiangxi River (香溪河) at Zigui (秭归县, the hometown of the patriotic poet Qu Yuan) in Hubei Province to Nanjin Pass (南津关) near the city of Yichang. It is divided into two sections – the west section consists of the Military Book and Treasure Sword Gorge, the Bull’s Liver and Horse’s Lung Gorge and Kongling Mountain Gorge, while the east section features the Shadow Play Gorge and the Yellow Cat Gorge, which also known as Yichang Gorge. There are many archeological sites along this gorge, including the Huangling Temple, first built during the Three Kingdoms (220 AD – 280 AD). Additionally, the Three Visitors’ Cave and the Luyou Fountain all have their unique features.
Xiling Gorge is known for dangerous rapids and numerous shoals, the latter include Qingtan, Kongling and Xietan shoals. These formed out of fallen rocks from banks, boulders and sand washed down from the upper reaches, veins protruding from the riverbanks, or reefs jutting out of the riverbed. At some points there are treacherous whirlpools and the waters are extraordinarily turbulent. In the past, shipwrecks often happened. In the north of Qingtan Shoal, a small tower called White Bones, in which collects the bodies of dead sailors.
However, after many years of water management works and the completion of the Gezhouba Water Conservancy Project, the devilish rapids have been greatly tamed, but the beautiful scenery still.
The oddity of Bull's Liver and Horse's Lung Gorge, China
Not far to the east of the Military Book and Treasure Sword Gorge, a rocky cliff stands on the northern bank of the river with two stones in deep yellow color, of which one looks like a bull’s liver while another is like a horse’s lung, so it got the weird name – Bull’s Liver and Horse’s Lung Gorge. They are stalactites formed by calcium carbonate that underground water contains. Today the bull’s liver is still intact but the lower part of the horse’s lung has been destroyed by invading British navy in 1900.
The Shadow Play Gorge is clean, smooth on its cliff surface and without any bad-looking color, with fountains that crystal water flies down the cliff. It will be an overwhelming scene at a moonlit night to pass the gorge, the full moon shines the cliff and water, and they reflect the silvery lights. The Shadow Play Gorge is nicknamed “Full Moon Gorge”.
A large piece of stone that looks like an image of a man who is dragging an ox, so that the rock is called Ox Hill and the gorge gets the same name. The Ox Gorge is also has fast flowing water with dangerous reefs. In the past, boats were sailing very slowly to avoid accidents. After sailing for a few days, the sailors still could see the Ox Hill behind.
Xiling Gorge, Yangtze River, China
The Ox Gorge is in the valley with a division of cragged cliffs, which see the rapid-flowing water below. Nine falling ridges are going down from the cliffs to the water just like nine majestic dragons powerfully jumping into the water. Unlike the Shadow Play Gorge, the mountains along the Ox Gorge are very tall with rugged rock patterns. Fish and insect fossils found testify the million years’ geographical and ecological changes in the Three Gorges area.
The 5-kilometer-long Military Book and Treasure Sword Gorge is located in the western section of Xiling Gorge, Zigui County in Hubei Province. It has a very narrow waterway that the width is about 100 meters. It is said that Zhuge Liang, a legendary wise man from the Three Kingdoms Period, collected a book about military, under which a giant piece of stone that looked like a sword interposed the water.
Kongling Mountain Gorge (崆岭峡) is on the border of Zigui and Yichang Counties, with a dangerous shoal. Kong means a boat with windows. The rapids are deadly in this section, much sinisterly than the Qingtan Shoal, and heavy ships can hardly pass through.
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