Yueyang Tower - Junshan Scenic Zone

Yueyang Tower - Junshan Scenic Zone

Yueyang Tower presents the harmony between human landscapes and natural sceneries. The Dongting Lake reaches Xiaoxiang in the south; the Yangtze River borders the Wu Gorge in the north; the Baling Mountain has open views in the west; and Yuezhou borders high mountains in the east. With the mountains, water and buildings forming beautiful sceneries, Yueyang Tower is reputed as one of the Three Famous Towers in south of Yangtze River, alongside with the Pavilion of Prince Teng and Yellow Crane Tower. Yueyang Tower is the only ancient tower that the original appearance and location are well preserved. Yueyang Tower boasts many famous couplets, poems and articles. Valued pieces of calligraphy or painting by ancient and modern celebrities can be seen in the tower. Yueyang Tower has a symmetric and mean building style. It is a pure wooden structure with upturned eaves and helmet roof. Decorated with cloud, dragon and phoenix carvings, Yueyang Tower has four beams and reflects the harmony among the heaven, earth and human. Xianmei Pavilion and Sanzui Pavilion are located at the left and right sides of Yueyang Tower. These two pavilions and the tower are like two stars surrounding a moon. Yueyang Tower deserves to be called the masterpiece of architectural art.

Yueyang Tower is not only a building. It is more of the presentation of Confucianism and the feelings of dejected poets. Yueyang Tower absorbs a lot cultural connotation and national complex. Its profound culture and vast vision attract numerous Chinese. Yueyang Tower is the symbol of Hu-xiang culture, which presents boats and sunset on the 800li Dongting Lake, just like a painting painted with great anxious and happy emotion.

Junshan Island covers a land area of 0.96km2, which is exactly one 10 millionth of China’s total area. Junshan Island has many historic and cultural relics and profound culture. On the island, every hill has its own story and every corner tells legends. Junshan not only has profound cultural deposits, but also boasts beautiful natural sceneries. Located on the Dongting Lake, Junshan Island is covered by green trees all the year round. It has diversified species of plants, and is the treasure house of plants on the Dongting Lake. Famous and precious trees, including osmanthus fragrans, elaeocarpus sylvestris (lour.), poir and lindera megaphylla hemsl make the island fascinating. Junshan Island is also the bird-watching station for East Dongting Lake National Natural Reserve. Every year, around 10 million birds spend winter here. The beautiful sceneries of Junshan Island vary in different seasons, namely, beautiful flowers in spring, majestic Dongting Lake in summer, colorful trees in autumn and migrant birds in winter. Junshan is a paradise for tourists and the best choice for summer visitors. 

Junshan is a mystical book and colorful painting. Readers will have new discoveries and feelings after each reading. Junshan is an island of love. The love poems, legends and calligraphies are perfectly and harmoniously integrated.

Yueyang Tower - Junshan Island is an indispensable scenic zone in Middle China and golden tourist route of the Yangtze River. It is highly valued by experts, and is reputed as the cultural relic site under the protection of national government, national park of China and top 10 cultural heritages of Hunan Province.

Introduction of Scenic Spots
Yueyang Tower

I. South EntranceThe entrance, located in the north facing the south, covers a total building area of 1,000m2 and is 55m wide. It has yellow edge-trimming roof. The windows in the east are exquisite bluestone carvings. The pillars and eaves are wooden structures, while the main structure is masonry-concrete structure. The entrance has modern building regulations and traditional building style. The ornaments of lotus flowers, lotus seedpods, and lotus leaves on the roof and the flower engravings on the beams reflect the Hu-xiang culture. The couplet on the gate posts reads “As a lake, the Dongting Lake has no rivals. As a tower, Yueyang tower has no peers". 

II. Models of Yueyang Tower in Five DynastiesThe models show the Yueyang Tower in the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. These models were designed according to the description in the ancient books and the paintings of Yueyang Tower by painters of various dynasties; and were made by two of China’s top bronze casting companies.

These five exquisite models reflect the building styles and architectural arts in five dynasties, and also represent the excellent techniques and skills of bronze casting in south and north China. They are the only bronze buildings in China and even in the world, presenting uniqueness to the world.

III. Shuanggong Temple The Administration Committee of Yueyang Tower invested a significant amount to build Shuanggong Temple, in order to display the historical evolution, show the architectural culture, present the profound historical and cultural deposits of Yueyang Tower, and carry forward the traditional spirit of “one should be the first to worry about the future of the state and the last to claim his share of happiness”. “Shuanggong” refers to Teng Zijing and Fan Zhongyan. Right in front of the gate of Shuanggong Temple, there are the statues of Teng Zijing (right side) and Fan Zhongyan (left side).

The exhibition includes two parts: (1) the exhibition on the left-hand side is themed “as a tower, Yueyang tower has no peers”, which exhibits the history and development of Yueyang Tower, as well as celebrities’ poems praising Yueyang Tower; (2) the exhibition on the right-hand side is “contribution of Teng Zijing and Fan Zhongyan”, which introduces their lives and their contributions to Yueyang Tower.

IV. New Steles Corridor The steles corridor, over 240m long in total, has the shape of big dipper. From the top, it looks like a gold key. About 50 pieces of calligraphy works from famous calligraphers in different dynasties are exhibited here, which are very precious.

V. Memorial Arch There is a stone memorial arch respectively at either side of Yueyang Tower. The upper part is gable and hip roof, with glazed tilt and blue-stone transom. On the stone pillars, couplets are carved. On the left hand, it reads “Reaching Xiaoxiang over hundreds miles away in the south, accessing to the thousands of mountains of Wu Gorge”. It was written by Zhang Zhao, famous calligrapher in the Qing Dynasty, and was inscribed by Li Haisu, modern artist. On the right hand, it reads “drifting clouds and wild storks are cozy, the beautiful sceneries have never and will never be surpassed”. It was written by He Shaoji, famous calligrapher of the Qing Dynasty, and was inscribed by Li Duo, a modern calligrapher. On the transom of the back, the inscription reads “white moon at the horizon”, “refreshing breeze from the river”, which was inscribed by Xia Xiangping, a famous modern calligrapher. The two memorial arches, located in the north and south, are majestic and symmetrically arranged, making Yueyang Tower more antique and solemn.

VI. Yueyang Tower The most recent rebuilding of Yueyang Tower was carried out by Zhang Derong, the magistrate of Yuezhou (today’s Yueyang) in the sixth Guangxu Year of the Qing Dynasty (1880). In 1983, the tower was seriously damaged. Thus Chinese government allocated RMB 1.5 million to repair it as per the principle of “repair in antique style”. The name “Yueyang Tower” on the inscribed board was written by Guo Moruo, a literary giant and historian. Yueyang Tower is 19.42m high and covers a land area of 251m2. It is the smallest one among the Three Famous Towers, but it is of the most characteristics. It is the only tower that the original appearance and location are well preserved. It fully shows the style and characteristics of architectural art in ancient China, which can be summarized by five phrases – “three-storey, four-pillar, upturned-eaves, helmet-roof, and pure-wooden-structure”. Three-storey means that it is the highest building in ancient times. Due to the restriction of building materials and environment, buildings in ancient China were up to three-storey. Yueyang Tower was built on the west city gate of Yueyang City, without any foundation. It is mainly supported by four nanmu pillars with the diameter of 50cm, from the first to the third storey. The eaves of the tower are upturned, presenting smooth lines and beautiful shapes. On each storey, the ornaments of the eaves are different, namely, phoenix for the first storey, dragon for the second and clouds for the third storey. These ornaments indicate prosperity brought by the dragon and the phoenix, reflecting the luck implied meanings of ancient buildings. The roof of Yueyang Tower looks like a helmet of an ancient general. This roof is called helmet roof. Such helmet-shaped structure with arches and upturned lines is one and only in the architecture history of China. The helmet roof emerged in the Qing Dynasty and still exists today. It is of very high historic value. During the repair in 1983, people were surprised to find that the whole building was joggled by woods based on traditional techniques. The structure is neat and exquisite. It is a pure wooden structure. The building is a great achievement in aesthetics, mechanism, technique and architecture. Therefore, it is famed “as a tower, Yueyang tower has no peers”. In addition to the long history and exquisite building, Yueyang Tower also has its own soul, namely, The Yueyang Tower.

In 1044, Teng Zijing and Fan Zhongyan were demoted due to the failure of Qingli New Deal. Teng Zijing was demoted to Yuezhou. But he was not depressed, or concerned for his own gains, loss, honor or disgrace. Rather, he bore responsibility and blame, and worked hard. Only after one year, he realized logical administration and people lived in harmony in Yuezhou. And then he did the most important thing all his life – rebuilt Yueyang Tower. The rebuilt Yueyang Tower was magnificent. Since he had spent lots of efforts for rebuilding the tower, he hoped the tower can be preserved forever. The only method to preserve the tower was to invite a literary giant to write an article about the tower. Then his good friend, the then literary giant and politician Fan Zhongyan, called to his mind. So he wrote Fan Zhongyan a letter to invite him to write an article, and also gifted a painting The Later Autumn of the Dongting Lake to him. Finally, on the 15th day of the ninth lunar month of the sixth Qingli Year, the literal masterpiece, The Yueyang Tower finished. In this article, Fan Zhongyan described the scenes of the Dongting Lake in cloudy and sunny days, so as to indicate a great aspiration and wishes. He believed that an ambitious people with great ideals should “not be pleased by external gains, not be saddened by personal losses”. He also proposed a lofty concept that “one should be the first to worry about the future of the state and the last to claim his share of happiness”. This concept elevated the article to a new height. The article becomes the representation of Confucianism in several thousand years. When Fan Zhongyan showed the article to Teng Zijing, Teng was very happy, as this article was far beyond his expectation. Thus Teng invited the then famous calligrapher Su Zimei and famous sculptor Shao Song to inscribe the article. At that time (the Northern Song Dynasty), Teng Zijing, Fan Zhongyan, Su Zimei and Shao Song were very famous respectively due to rebuilding the tower, writing the article, providing calligraphy and carving the article on the board respectively. Unfortunately, the rebuilt Yueyang Tower and the four inscribed boards were destroyed in a big fire in Shenzong years of the Song Dynasty, only 33 years after rebuilding. The inscribed board we see today is a copy of Zhang Zhao’s work, the great calligrapher, and calligraphy teacher of Emperor Qianlong. The original works of Zhang Zhao, displayed on the second floor, have a history of 267 years, thus they are very precious. On the third floor of the main building, the five-character quatrain of Du Fu On Yueyang Tower that is inscribed by Chairman Mao Zedong is displayed.

Junshan Island

I. Entrance Junshan, also called Dongtingshan, Xiangshan and Youyuanshan in ancient times, is a small island on the Dongting Lake, which faces famous Yueyang Tower. It covers a total area of 0.96km2, and is consisted of 72 hills. Junshan is famed as the 11th blessed land by Taoism. It is now the national park of China and national AAAA scenic spot.

Junshan has many historic and cultural sites, presenting rich cultural deposits. It is said that Junshan Island has five wells, four terraces, 36 pavilions and 48 temples. Junshan Island has towering ancient trees, dense woods and bamboos. There are over 20 species of famous bamboos. The mysterious mottled bamboos are growing around the tombs of two concubines. Junshan tea is also a great attraction. The tea gardens are like green jade belts around the hills. Junshan Silver Needle Tea, one of the ten famous teas of China, is produced here. Tea, Chinemys reevesii and mottled bamboo are three treasures of Junshan.

II. Dongting Temple Dongting Temple, built in the Tang Dynasty, is located at the foot of Qiuyue Hill, Junshan Island. The temple was destroyed in war. The current temple was rebuilt in 1997. Entering the main hall, you will see an inscribed board with “Dongting Temple” on it. In the main hall, you will see the statue of Prince Dongting. He looks ahead, puts one hand on the forehead and holds a pearl with the other hand. It seems he is adjusting Yin and Yang, to avoid storms on the Dongting Lake. The long corridor connecting the first hall with the second hall is called “Arhat Corridor”. There are 500 arhats. Visitors can predict their life by counting them. The second hall is the “Guanyin Hall”. The whole temple, being majestic, covers a land area of 5,000m2. Dongting Temple was built to commemorate Liu Yi for good deeds he did to the area near the Dongting Lake. Visitors passing by the Dongting Lake will visit the temple and burn incense, praying for safety.

III. Autumn Moon Bridge

Autumn Moon Bridge is a semi-circle stone arch bridge. Under the bridge, it is a lotus pond. The shape of the arch bridge and its reflection in the pond form a moon in autumn days. This bridge was built to commemorate the painting Autumn Moon of the Dongting Lake - One of the Eight Sceneries of Xiaoxiang by Mi Fu, a famous painter of the Song Dynasty. Mi Fu is a master of poems and calligraphy. Mi Fu, along with Su Shi, Huang Tingjian and Cai Xiang were famed as "Four Calligraphy Giants of the Song Dynasty”. Mi Fu was especially famous for mountain-and-water paintings. Mi Fu had a special emotion towards Xiaoxiang. He loved the landscapes of lakes and mountains in Xiaoxiang. He once inscribed “The Best Tower in the World” for Duojing Tower on the Beigu Mountain. He believed that “Xiaoxiang can best inspire his painting, and the mountains of Zhenjiang are the second best inspiration”. He liked the landscapes of Zhenjiang, but he still thought Xiaoxiang is a better place to inspire him. He learned that the mysterious "Autumn Moon of the Dongting Lake” can be seen in Junshan. Then he rushed to Junshan, and finished the painting for the last scenery of the eight sceneries of Xiaoxiang, namely, the "Autumn Moon of the Dongting Lake".

IV. Xiang River Goddesses Temple

Xiang River Goddesses Temple, also called Xiangshan Temple, is located in the east of Junshan, and is one of the earliest memorial temples. Xiang River Goddesses are two concubines of Emperor Shun in the period of Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, namely E’huang and Nvying. Qu Yuan, a great poet, addressed them as the Goddess of the Xiang and Lady Xiang in the Nine Songs. Thus they were called Xiang River Goddesses. These two ladies came here to look for their husband and were sick due to worries. Unfortunately, they passed away on this island. To commemorate them, a memorial temple was built in Junshan. Xiang River Goddesses Temple is reputed as “the best temple in South of Yangtze River”. The temple was built by the Chu State in the Spring and Autumn period and Warring State period, about 2,000 years ago. The current temple was rebuilt in 1986 as per the drawings in the Baling County Annals issued in the 9th Jiaqing Year of the Qing Dynasty.

V. Forest of Mottled Bamboos Mottled bamboo is also called Xiang River Goddess bamboo. It is said that the mottles of the bamboos are tears of Xiang River Goddesses. The mystery of mottled bamboo is not only from its legend, but also its special characteristics. Only bamboos from Junshan and Jiuyi Mountain where Emperor Shun fought to death have these mottles. Once bamboos are transplanted to other places, such mottles will disappear in the second year. If bamboos are transplanted back again, the mottles will appear. Why? Actually, mottled bamboo is sick bamboo. The mottles on the bamboo are caused by the fungus on young bamboos. Junshan and the Jiuyi Mountain are suitable for the survival of such fungus. In other places, the sick bamboos are healthy again, and thus the mottles disappear.

VI. Liuyi Well (Message Delivery Pavilion) Liuyi Well is located at the root of the dragon tongue of Junshan. According to the Tale of Liu Yi, in Yifeng years, Liuyi, a Confucian scholar, was on his way back home after he failed the imperial examinations at the provincial level. He encountered the young daughter of the Dragon King of the Dongting Lake who married the younger son of Jingchuan and was abused. The lady asked Liu Yi to send a message to her father through Liuyi Well. Finally, the dragon daughter was saved and she married Liu Yi after many hardships. With regard to the story, Zuo Zongtang in late Qing Dynasty wrote a couplet “Liu Yi sent the message because he showed sympathy; the mountains and lake in the paintings reflects the integrity and loyalty”, to praise the spirit of Liu Yi for helping to deliver the message. There was a large orange tree near Liuyi Well. Thus, it is also called Orange Well. After the orange tree died, people built Message Delivery Pavilion on the location of the tree. The floor plane of the pavilion is two squares connected on the cross. The special design makes it a polygon building. It is covered by green glazed tilts, and has gourd-roof, and six turtle-shaped corners. It seems that the two pavilions are connected together, which symbolizes the firm love between Liu Yi and the dragon lady, and indicates people’s good wishes and memory.

VII. Dragon Saliva Well Dragon Saliva Well is in the front of the Dragon Tongue Hill of Junshan, and is one of the five famous ancient wells in Junshan. The well was restored in 1979 according to the original appearance. The mouth of the well has a diameter of 0.84m. Dragon and cloud ornaments are applied around the mouth of the well. The outer ring is ring masonry, with three layers of ornaments. The ochre yellow rock in the well is like the dragon tongue. The spring drops into the well from the rock, just like the saliva. It is said that the well water is pure and clean, warm in winter and cool in summer; the water never dries and is the dragon saliva.