【Hunan】Yueyang Tower

Overlooking Dongting Lake in Yueyang, Yueyang Tower ranks among Jiangnan's "Three Great Towers" alongside Tengwang Pavilion and Yellow Crane Tower. Originally a military watchtower built in the Three Kingdoms period, its current structure (1880 reconstruction) features interlocking wooden joints and a helmet-like roof, with four pillars symbolizing "earthly stability." From its heights, Dongting Lake "grasps distant mountains, swallows the Yangtze," while Junshan Island resembles a green snail on a silver plate. Fan Zhongyan's Memorial to Yueyang Tower—engraved on rosewood screens—proclaims "worry before the world worries," elevating the tower's philosophical legacy. Below, Huaifu Pavilion commemorates Du Fu, who penned "Southeastward tear land of Chu and Wu" here in his twilight years. Spring mist obscures the lake; winter welcomes migratory birds; finless porpoises breach waves—a symphony of ecology and millennia of culture.

Tip: Address: Dongting North Road, Yueyang Tower District, Yueyang; Ticket: ¥70.

Tour Combo: Speedboat to Junshan Island (15 mins); foreign passport holders get free access to Love Theme Park—see "tear stains" on mottled bamboo.

Seasonal: Winter (Nov-Feb) for migratory birds; binoculars recommended for crane watching.