Explore Ecological Environment in Yueyang

 

Standing on the bank of the Dongting Lake in the northwest of Yueyang City, Yueyang Tower, along with the Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan and the Tengwang Pavilion in Nanchang, is one of the three great towers in south of the Yangtze River. It used to be a watchtower for the soldiers garrisoning the city gate and taking a test. However, towards the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, this tower was changed to an inspection tower to review troops by General Lu Su of the Wu Kingdom (222). In 716 during the Tang Dynasty when Secretariat Director Zhang Yue garrisoned Yueyang, he further expanded the tower and named it Nanlou or Yueyang Tower. In 1044 when the Song Dynasty general Teng Zijing garrisoned the place, he renovated the Yueyang Tower and invited his bosom friend, Fan Zhongyan, a well-known writer, to compose an essay Records of the Yueyang Tower, which won the tower great fame home and abroad.

The Yueyang Tower is unique in architecture. Its three-storey main building is 19.42 meters high, with four huge nanmu pillars supporting the upturned roof ridges. One of its unique features is that its roof looks just like a general's helmet.

 

 

The temple was built to commemorate Qu Yuan, a great patriotic poet and senior official of the State of Chu during the Warring State Period (475-221BC). Being slandered and expelled from the court, he came to live on the Mount Yusi by the Miluo River. Despite of his helplessness in saving the country, he drowned himself in the Miluo River.

 

Built firstly in 1754 in memory of this great man, the temple stands on the Yusi Mountain on the northern bank of the Miluo River at its lower reaches. This south-facing temple of wood and brick structure has a series of three courtyards. Its front gate has three arches, the gateway and side wall are carved with 17 reliefs on Qu Yuan. In the central hall or the memorial hall is a huge board inscribed with the Biography of Qu Yuan written by ancient historian Sima Qian, as well as a shrine behind which is a pavilion. Some golden and silver osmanthus trees 300 years old are growing there. A statue of Qu Yuan is standing aloft in the hall of the third courtyard, and the life stories of Qu Yuan are described on the houses on two sides of the hall. Near the temple, there is a forest of steels of Qu Yuan works, all are inscribed in the calligraphy of famous modern Chinese calligraphers. In 2001 the place was put on the list of cultural relic sites under key state protection. It is one of the major scenic spots in the Yueyang Tower national scenic resort area by the Dongting Lake.

 

The newly discovered Zhang Guying Village is an ancient architectural cluster built over 600 years ago during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It is located at the foot of Bijia Mountain in the mountainous Weidong area east of Yueyang County and is 73 kilometers (about 45 miles) from the downtown area of Yueyang City. Enjoying the fame as the 'Folk Imperial Palace' and 'First Village under the Sun', Zhang Guying Village covers an area of 50,000 square meters (about 12 acres) featuring carved pictures on surface of the building, a zigzag laneway and the occult dooryard. The architectural style imparts an air of mystery.

 

Address: at the foot of Bijia Mountain in the mountainous Weidong area east of Yueyang County and 73 kilometers (about 45 miles) from the downtown area of Yueyang City

Opening hours: 8:00-18:00

 

The Mufu Mountains are a sub-range of the Luoxiao Mountains stretching roughly southwest-northeast for about 200 km from Pingjiang County, in Hunan, to Jiujiang County in Jiangxi. It covers 6,468 hectares with it highest peak reaching 1,606 meters.

 

Known as a “gene bank” for flora and fauna its forest coverage rate is nearly 94%. It has the largestTaiwan Red Pine [pinustaiwanensis] area, more than 1,100 hectares, south of the Yangtze. It is home to one class I national protected animal, the clouded leopard (Neofelisnebulosa), and 22 species of class II national protected animals including, among others, as the flat-chested tortoise, the tiger frog, the macaques, the pangolin, the jackals otter, and the big civet.

 

Anciently, Mufu was a strategically important battlefield. Well-preserved stone inscriptions along the mountain roads provide a chance to learn about the stories of ancient China. In addition to its profound culture, Mufu Mountain Forest Park is famous for its spectacular scenery, sparkling waterfall, ancient temples, rare flora, blooming flowers, and vast mountain meadows. Its perfect ecological tourism resources resulted in its being approved as a national level park by the State Forestry Administration of PRC in 2005.

Updated on Feb. 26, 2024