Atlas of China
Yichang 宜昌Yíchāng
Gateway to the Three Gorges, from Qu Yuan's hometown to the great dam
About Yichang
Yichang stands where the Yangtze leaves Xiling Gorge, the last of the Three Gorges, for the plains. Upstream at Sandouping, the Three Gorges Dam has been the world's largest power station by installed capacity since it was completed in 2012, and nearby Zigui is the hometown of the poet Qu Yuan, remembered at the Dragon Boat Festival. Boats cruise the Qingjiang Gallery through Tujia country to the south, and Dangyang keeps Yuquan Temple and the tomb of Guan Yu.
What to eat in Yichang
- Fried radish dumplings (萝卜饺子)
Featured places in Yichang
-
Three Gorges Dam 三峡大坝
The Yangtze's mega-dam, seen from hilltop lookouts and a ship lift that raises whole boats
Listed sites in Yichang
39 sites in Yichang are on the official lists. Those with a page of their own link to it; the rest open as cards on the map.
- Qingjiang Gallery 清江画廊 5A scenic area
A boat-trip scenic area on the Qingjiang River above the Geheyan Dam in Changyang county, where the reservoir winds between steep wooded cliffs and hundreds of small islands. - Qu Yuan's Hometown, Zigui 屈原故里 5A scenic area · National heritage site
Qu Yuan's Hometown is a tourist area on Phoenix Hill beside the Yangtze at Maoping, built around the Fenghuangshan Ancient Buildings, a national heritage group of Qing-dynasty buildings moved here because their original sites in Zigui were to be flooded by the Gezhouba and Three Gorges reservoirs. - Three Gorges Tribe 三峡人家 5A scenic area · on the map
A scenic area of about 14 km² around Dengying Gorge, the stretch of Xiling Gorge between the Gezhouba and Three Gorges dams, built around the way of life of Yangtze boatmen and Tujia villagers. - Three Gorges Waterfall 三峡大瀑布 5A scenic area
A waterfall 102 m high and 80 m wide in a limestone canyon in northern Yiling district, the main one of more than 30 falls along the valley stream. - Bailihuang Alpine Grassland 百里荒高山草原 4A scenic area · on the map
A highland meadow area of about 40 km² on the ridges of Fenxiang township in northern Yiling district, at an average altitude of about 1,200 m, with open pasture, pine woods, gorges and a row of wind turbines. - Chaibuxi Grand Canyon 柴埠溪大峡谷 4A scenic area
A band-shaped karst canyon of about 60 km² in the Wuling Mountains in Wufeng county, with rock pillars, sheer cliffs and forested peaks above a stream, often compared with Zhangjiajie, which lies in the same range. - Chaotianhou Rafting, Gaolan 朝天吼漂流 4A scenic area · on the map
A rafting site on the Gaolan River in Xingshan county, where the main run is 6.5 km long with a 148 m drop through a wooded valley. - Chexi Folk Culture Area, Yichang 车溪民俗旅游区 4A scenic area · on the map
A folk-culture park in Chexi, a Tujia village in Tucheng township, built around museums and demonstrations of traditional country life. - Jiufenggu (Nine Phoenix Valley) 九凤谷 4A scenic area · on the map
A stream valley about 3 km long in the hills of Wuyanquan town at roughly 800 m altitude, where faulting has cut a narrow U-shaped gorge with cliffs, stalactites, deep pools and waterfalls up to about 20 m high. - Jiuwanxi Scenic Area, Zigui 九畹溪景区 4A scenic area · on the map
Jiuwanxi is a tributary of the Yangtze in Zigui whose mouth faces the Cow Liver and Horse Lung Gorge on the Three Gorges reservoir. - Mingfeng Mountain, Yuan'an 鸣凤山 4A scenic area · on the map
A red-sandstone hill 408 metres high, circled by water on three sides, with a Taoist temple complex that local tradition dates to the Liang dynasty and links to the Wudang Mountains. - Nanjinguan Grand Canyon 南津关大峡谷 4A scenic area · on the map
An 8 km forested canyon on the Xiling Gorge side of Yiling district, with a height difference of about 400 m between its ends, developed for hiking, stream-tracing and canyoning (rope descents down the stream), alongside zip-line and cliff-climbing activities. - Qingjiang Fangshan Scenic Area, Changyang 清江方山 4A scenic area · on the map
A mountain scenic area of about 60 square kilometres in the core of the Qingjiang National Forest Park, with karst peaks, ravines, streams and waterfalls above Zhengjiabang village. - Qingjiang Tianlongwan Resort 清江天龙湾 4A scenic area · on the map
A lakeside leisure resort on the Qingjiang River reservoir in Yidu, with a hotel, a sand beach, water sports such as speedboats and pedal boats, and an outdoor team-building ground. - Qinglin Leisure Tourism Area, Yidu 青林休闲旅游区 4A scenic area · on the map
A leisure area of about 8.5 square kilometres on the Qing River below the Geheyan Dam, spread between Honghuatao and Gaobazhou towns and named after a former temple, Qinglin Temple. - Shipai Fortress 石牌要塞 4A scenic area · on the map
The site of the Shipai fortress, a Yangtze position between the Three Gorges and Gezhouba dams that Chinese naval gunners fortified in 1938 and that was defended in May 1943 against a Japanese offensive aimed at Chongqing. - Three Gorges Ancient Stockades 三峡古兵寨 4A scenic area · on the map
A heritage park in Huanghua town built around the hilltop stone stockades (bingzhai) of northern Yiling, more than 100 of which survive in the town according to local officials. - Three Gorges Citrus Vinegar Estate 三峡橘醋 4A scenic area · on the map
A company-run visitor estate of about 1.85 km² in Yidu's citrus-growing country, with orchards, lakes and wetland around a citrus-vinegar brewing estate that opened to visitors in March 2023. - Three Gorges Longyin Valley, Yuan'an 三峡龙隐谷 4A scenic area · on the map
A valley scenic area in Hualinsi town in the Taiping mountains, with waterfalls, a covered bridge, a small lake and riverside platforms in its valley section. - Three Gorges Orange Valley and Zhaxi River Area, Zigui 三峡橙谷·环吒溪河景区 4A scenic area · on the map
A rural scenic area in Shuitianba township, in the north-west of Zigui county, strung along the Zhaxi River through hillsides of navel-orange orchards; the township has about 4,700 hectares of them. - Three Travellers' Cave 三游洞 4A scenic area · National heritage site
A limestone cave in a cliff above the Yangtze at the mouth of Xiling Gorge, named for two literary meetings: the poets Bai Juyi, his brother Bai Xingjian and Yuan Zhen explored it in 819, and Su Xun and his sons Su Shi and Su Zhe followed in 1056. - Wudieshui Grand Canyon (Three Gorges Bamboo Sea), Zigui 五叠水大峡谷 4A scenic area · on the map
A forested stream valley on the south bank of the Yangtze at Sixi, Maoping, known for bamboo groves, caves and waterfalls, and also promoted as the Three Gorges Bamboo Sea. - Wuling Gorge Mouth, Yuan'an 武陵峡口 4A scenic area · on the map
A karst gorge and spa area of about 10 square kilometres in Yangping town, with a five-kilometre gorge path, some thirty viewpoints and four linked caves called Moon, Poplar, Soldiers-and-Horses and Sinkhole. - Xiannü Jiji Theme Park, Zhijiang 仙女吉吉主题公园 4A scenic area · on the map
A village-based leisure park in Xiangxiang village, Xiannü town, presented as a citrus-themed park and rated 4A in December 2023. - Xiling Gorge Mouth Scenic Area, Yichang 西陵峡口风景区 4A scenic area · on the map
A scenic area around the eastern mouth of Xiling Gorge, where the Yangtze leaves the Three Gorges on the north-west edge of Yichang. - Yang Shoujing Academy and Wetland 杨守敬书院 4A scenic area · on the map
A modern academy complex, built from 2005, in honour of Yang Shoujing (1839–1915), the Yidu-born historical geographer who completed the 80-volume Shuijing zhu shu, a commentary on the ancient waterways classic. - Yichang Museum 宜昌博物馆 4A scenic area · on the map
Yichang's main museum, a large modern building that opened in September 2019 in Wujiagang District next to the city's planning exhibition hall, and rated a first-grade national museum in December 2020. - Yuquan Temple, Dangyang 玉泉寺 4A scenic area · National heritage site
A Buddhist temple on the eastern slope of Yuquan Hill, said to have been founded in the 6th century and given its present name in the Sui dynasty; it is counted as an ancestral seat of the Tiantai school and as one of the national key temples of Han Buddhism. - Zhaojun Village 昭君村 4A scenic area · on the map
The traditional birthplace of Wang Zhaojun, the Han-dynasty court lady sent to marry a Xiongnu ruler, set beside the Xiangxi River in Xingshan county. - Zhuoer Muqiaoxi Eco-tourism Resort, Changyang 卓尔木桥溪生态旅游度假区 4A scenic area · on the map
A private resort planned over about 15 square kilometres in Muqiaoxi village, developed from 2017 by the Zhuoer group in a river valley of cliffs, waterfalls and forest. - Baibaozhai Rock Dwellings, Dangyang 百宝寨岩屋 National heritage site · on the map
A group of nearly 200 Qing-dynasty dwellings cut into the cliffs on both banks of the Ju River in Yuquan subdistrict. - Changyang Man Site 长阳人遗址 National heritage site · on the map
A limestone cave known as Longdong, or dragon cave, at Zhongjiawan village, where a fossil upper jaw and teeth of an early modern human were found in 1956. - Former 066 Missile Base (Third Front), Yuan'an 三线航天066导弹基地旧址 National heritage site · on the map
A former inland defence-industry base of the Third Front programme, begun in 1969 in the hills of Yuan'an, where ground-to-ground tactical missiles were developed. - Guanling (Guan Yu's Tomb), Dangyang 关陵 National heritage site · on the map
The tomb and temple complex where, by local tradition, the body of the Three Kingdoms general Guan Yu was buried, while his head is traditionally said to lie at Luoyang. - Huangling Temple 黄陵庙 National heritage site
A temple complex on the south bank of the Yangtze just below the Three Gorges Dam, dedicated to Yu the Great, the legendary tamer of the floods. - Li Laiheng's Anti-Qing Fortress Sites 李来亨抗清遗址 National heritage site · on the map
Remains of the mountain strongholds of Li Laiheng, a commander of the former Shun rebel army who kept resisting the Qing in these hills until 1664. - Nanbian Old Houses 南边民居 National heritage site
Two Qing-dynasty courtyard compounds, Laohao and Baohe, about 200 m apart on a mountainside in a small valley village in Huanghua town, listed as a national heritage site in 2019. - Tianran Pagoda 宜昌天然塔 National heritage site
An eight-sided, seven-storey brick-and-stone pagoda 43 m high on the north bank of the Yangtze in Binjiang Park, with guardian figures carved around its base. - Yangjiawan Old House 杨家湾老屋 National heritage site · on the map
A Qing-dynasty brick-and-timber mansion in Sandouping, begun in 1787 and enlarged in the Daoguang years (1820–50), two courtyards deep and eleven rooms wide, with seven patios.
Getting to Yichang
Train, flight and driving times from the cities most visitors come from, with stations, fares and how many run a day; each opens the full comparison.
- Wuhan 武汉 high-speed train 1 h 9 min, 80 a day, from ¥145
On the map
Open Yichang on the illustrated map to see its outline, its places and listed sites together, and to add them to a trip.
Open Yichang on the map