Yueyang Tower

Introduction

Yueyang Tower is one of the Three Great Towers south of the Yangzi (along with the Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan and Tengwang Pavilion in Nanchang). On the eastern banks of Dongting Lake, the terraces of the tower provide stunning views of the waters below.

It is said that the site was once a platform for the Wu Kingdom (222-250AD) general Lu Su to train his naval troops. The tower was first built in 716 and was subsequently rebuilt on numerous occasions. The current Qing style structure is over 20 meters (66ft) tall and was last renovated in 1983. The tower was built without the use of a single nail.

Yueyang Tower is also the subject of the famous poem 'Notes on the Yueyang Tower' by Song dynasty (420-479AD) poet Fan Zhongyan.