Located at the northeast of Hunan Province, neighboring Jiangxi Province in the east and Hubei Province in the north, Yueyang was a hinterland of military importance during the past dynasties. Nowadays, renowned for so many historic interests, Yueyang is ranked as one of the 'China's Top Tourism Destination Cities'.

Under its jurisdiction, there are 2 county-level cities, four counties, three city zones, Yueyang Economic and Technology Development Area, Nanhu Scenery Area, Qu Yuan Precinct, with a total area of 150 thousand square kilometers, a total population of 5.3 million. City area covers an area of 824 square kilometers, with a population of 950 thousand. In Yueyang, the white and beautiful gardenia is its city flower while the flourishing Duying (Long-flowered ehretia) tree is its city tree. The flowers and the trees add a charming luster to Yueyang.

History

Yueyang is national historical and cultural city with a history of over 2,500 years. It was set up as a prefecture called Hanchang in 210BC during the Three Kingdoms Period. It was given different names in ancient times, such as Baling in AD291, Bazhou in AD439 and Yuezhou in AD591. It got its current name in AD1913.

Beautiful scenery and splendid cultures in Yueyang have attracted many famous literary figures, who praised Yueyang in their works. The most famous literary work on Yueyang is "the Yueyang Tower", which was written by Fan Zhongyan, a great writer during the Song Dynasty.

Tourism

Yueyang is a place with rich resources, good location and beautiful sceneries. With various sorts of landforms, it has beautiful natural sceneries; with a long history, it has many historic sites and cultural scenic spot.

The Yueyang Pavilion is an ancient architectural treasure which is located on the shores of Dongting Lake in Yueyang City, Hunan Province. The Yueyang Pavilion is one of four famous Chinese pavilions. The other famous pavilions are the Tengwang Pavilion in Hubei Province, the Yellow Crane Tower in Jiangxi Province and the Penglai Pavilion in Shandong Province.

The Yueyang Pavilion is a three storey, rectangular building which reaches 15 meters (about 49 feet) high and is constructed entirely from wood. Surprisingly, no nails or beams have been used in its construction. This is a rare feature in classical architecture. Pillars have been included in the construction to ensure the strength of the building. Four pillars made of 'Nanmu' wood support the entire pavilion; twelve pillars of catalpa wood support the eaves of the first storey and a further twelve pillars have been included to support the second storey. The roof of the pavilion is built using unusual curved lines which are similar to the shape of a helmet used by a knight of ancient times. Seen from a distance, the Yueyang Pavilion seems like a giant bird which is in flight. The red building with its yellow glazed roof tiles is a splendid and colorful sight. Views here are spectacular.

China's second largest freshwater lake Dongting Lake is a good tourist destination in Yueyang. Lake Dongting, located in the northeastern corner of Hunan Province, is an enormous shallow lake that expands and contracts depending on the floodwater conditions in this part of the Yangtze River flood basin. Since the flood basin conditions fluctuate with the seasons, the size of Lake Donting is a seasonal phenomenon. By mid-summer, enough run-off water from melting snow and spring rains has entered the Yangtze that its flood waters begin to fill Lake Dongting, via a number of backed-up feeder rivers to the Yangtze, and this condition continues until autumn, or the end of September.

Lake Dongting is the remnants of what was once a vast wetland area consisting of lakes and swamps. Although upwards of 50% of the wetland has been reduced, due perhaps partly to climate change and partly to the water needs of an increasingly industrialized/ urbanized society, Lake Dongting is still a very, very big body of water. It functions as a natural reservoir, where several rivers, both large and small, spill over into the lake, a phenomenon without which cites, towns, and villages farther downstream would be hopelessly flooded each year. The principal feeder river to the lake is the Chang Jiang, but also the Xiang, the Zi, the Yuan, and the Li - all major rivers - spill over into Lake Dongting. The Chang Jiang deposits not only vast amounts of water in Lake Dongting each year, but also massive amounts of rich sediments.

There are as well a number of smaller rivers that contribute to Lake Dongting's seasonal swelling, among these, the Miluo River, where the famous Kingdom of Chu poet of the Warring States (BCE 475-221) Period of the Eastern Zhou (BCE 770-221) Dynasty, Qu Yuan, committed suicide as a protest against the general corruption of his era (his death is commemorated during the annual Dragon Boat Festival). There are two areas of the lake worthy of particular mention, namely Junshan Island and Kindness Tower.

Junshan Island is referred to alternately as 'the pearl of Dongting Lake' and 'a green snail on a silvery plate'. The island faces a lake within Lake Dongting, namely Lake Yueyang. The island houses the tomb of two wives of the legendary (i.e., pre- Xia (BCE ca 2000-1500) Dynasty period) Emperor Shun, it inspired the mountain seal of Emperor Qin Shi Huang of the Qin (BCE 221-207) Dynasty, it was the stage where Emperor Wu of the  Western Han (BCE 206 - BC 009) Dynasty, who reigned from BCE 140 - 87, killed the dragon, and it houses the pavilion where the famous Tang (CE 618-907) Dynasty Taoist Immortal (according to Taoism, there exist Eight Immortals), Lu Dongbin, recited poems to an eager public. The island is also home to a number of rare plants such as the tropical/ subtropical evergreen tree - the Elaeocarpus (Elaeocarpus hainanensis) - the mottled bamboo, the square bamboo and the plum blossom bamboo, as well as 30 different kinds of birds, including the gull, the cuckoo and the swan.

Kindness Tower is located southwest of Yueyang City, the eastern lakefront of Lake Dongting. It was built during the Kaiyuan (CE 712-741) period of the reign (CE 712-756) of Emperor Xuan Zong of the Tang Dynasty. The present-day seven-stores, octagonal replacement tower of brick and stone stems from the Song (CE 960-1279) Dynasty. From the second storey upwards of this 39-meter-high structure is a small Buddha figure in a recess on each storey. It is one of the most ancient towers in Hunan Province. There are many anecdotes regarding the origin of the tower.

Climate

Yueyang has a northern subtropical monsoon climate with the features of long warm period in spring and winter, short freeze-up in early winter, mild autumn and summer.

There are four distinct seasons with sunlight of 1848 hours and the average temperature is 17.9℃ (about 63℉). The annual average rainfall reaches 2110.2 millimeter and the rich rainfall brings great benefit to agriculture and industry. For tourists May to October is the best period to visit Yueyang, because at this time of year the water lily is in full blossom and varied tourism festivals are organized, which have great charm to tourists.

Table of statistics for Yueyang climate for each month of the year