Yueyang Tower

Yueyang Tower, located on Dongting North Road in Yueyanglou District, Yueyang City, Hunan Province, is situated atop the western gate wall of the ancient city of Yueyang, close to the shores of Dongting Lake, overlooking Dongting Lake to the south and Junshan Island to the front; it was first built in the 20th year of Jian'an during the Eastern Han Dynasty (215 AD), and has been repeatedly renovated through the dynasties, with the existing structure following the form and layout of the reconstruction in the 6th year of the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty (1880 AD); Yueyang Tower became famous worldwide because Teng Zongliang of the Northern Song Dynasty renovated it and invited his good friend Fan Zhongyan to write 'The Record of Yueyang Tower'; it has been known since ancient times as 'Dongting is the world's water, Yueyang is the world's tower', and together with the Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan, Hubei, and the Tengwang Pavilion in Nanchang, Jiangxi, it is known as one of the 'Three Great Towers in the South of the Yangtze River', and is one of the 'Top Ten Historic and Cultural Towers in China', and one of the ancient four famous towers, known as 'the world's number one tower'.
The main building of Yueyang Tower is rectangular in shape, 19.42 meters high, 14.54 meters deep, and 17.42 meters wide, with three floors, four pillars, flying eaves, a helmet roof, and a pure wooden structure; the four nanmu golden pillars in the tower go straight to the top, surrounded by corridors, beams, rafters, and purlins that are interlocked with each other, forming a whole; the roof is covered with glazed yellow tiles, and the structure is solemn and square. Inside Yueyang Tower, the first floor hangs a carved screen of 'The Record of Yueyang Tower' along with poems, couplets, carvings, etc.; in the center of the second floor hangs a rosewood carved screen with 'The Record of Yueyang Tower' written by Zhang Zhao, a calligrapher of the Qing Dynasty; the third floor hangs a carved screen of Du Fu's poem 'Ascending Yueyang Tower' handwritten by Mao Zedong, and the eaves columns hang a couplet 'Water and sky blend in one color, wind and moon are boundless' written by 'Changgeng Li Bai', which has a certain ornamental value. As the only ancient building among the three famous towers that has maintained its original structure, the unique helmet roof structure reflects the intelligence and wisdom of the ancient working people and the exquisite design skills of skilled craftsmen.
In January 1988, Yueyang Tower was announced by the State Council as the third batch of national key cultural relics protection units; in the same year in August, Yueyang Tower was listed as a national key scenic spot protection area. On January 30, 2005, Yueyang Tower was selected as one of the top ten cultural heritages of Hunan. In September 2011, Yueyang Tower Scenic Area was officially approved by the National Tourism Scenic Area Quality Grade Evaluation Committee as a national AAAAA-level tourist attraction.

Post by Foodie Frenzy | Jun 14, 2024