Jingzhou Attractions - Things to Do

Eastern Gate and Binyang Tower

Jingzhou is divided into three parts from outside to inside - Water City, Brick City and Earth City originally mainly designed for the military function. The moat outside is the first line of protection for the city. There are two city gates as you enter the city, and the space between is called 'Urn City', which was used to catch the enemy inside.
 
The brick City that can be seen by us now was rebuilt during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). It is one of the most complete and solidest constructions that remain. The wall was mainly built with bricks and stripped stones at the bottom, the gaps between the bricks were filled with a sticky rice substance that hardened with time and provided a substancially firm substitute to the cement that we are now so familiar with.
 
There were 6 ancient city gates in the wall, originally each had a tower. Now the most popular are the Binyang Tower (Binyang Lou) on the Eastern Gate, the Qujiang Tower (Qujiang Lou) on the Southern Gate, and Chaozong Tower (Chaozong Lou) on the Large Northern Gate. Eastern Gate was for welcoming the guests and ambassadors in ancient times, so the tower is very grandiose and the Urn City is also the biggest. On the Qujiang Tower, all the splendor of the Yangtze River comes into view. The Large North Gate was the fortress leading to Beijing and the central area, and people used to see their friends off from here and broke a willow branch to send their greetings, hence the gate was also called 'Willow Gate'. Climbing onto the towers, you gain a magnificent panoramic view of this beautiful city.

Ancient City Wall, Jingzhou

Ancient City Gate

Ticket Information 
East Gate (Binyang Tower): CNY 27
Big North Gate (Chaozong Tower): CNY 14
Small North Gate (Yuan'an Gate): CNY 7
West Gate: CNY 5
Old South Gate: CNY 5

Visiting Jingzhou Museum should be on your list of things to do. It is a comprehensive museum free of charge,  which is well-known for its excellent environment, rich stores and great archeologist achievements. Cooperating with other engineering projects, the museum has excavated over 120 thousand valuable cultural relics. These include ancient jade plates, silks, spears, swords, lacquers, and bamboo books that record the earliest mathematical works as well as the earliest and most complete man corpus that remains. All of these precious and rare relics attract tourists from near and afar, making the museum one of the 'First Windows' to see the history of Jingzhou.

Bronze Wine Vessel, Jingzhou Museum

Bronze man figurine turning a millstone

The Three Kingdoms Period played an important part in Chinese history, when many great heroes were born and the famous military strategy '36 Tricks' were used perfectly. One of the four Chinese ancient classic works, Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Lo Kuan-Chung, was created just based on this period of history. Jingzhou, as the focus of quarrels then, has left many cultural relics that are related to the stories of Three Kingdoms. For example, Guandi Miao is a temple for the memorial of Guanyu, a general defending Jingzhou for one of the three kingdoms - Shu.

Longevity Pagoda

Many legends and myths were also produced in this spiritual city.
 
Here is a legend where the 'Jiunü Zhuo' (Nine Girls Mound) beside the city gate originates from. It was said that when Guan Yu guarded the city, he met nine fairies flying down to the earth, who said that they were commanded by the Empress of Heaven to take the city back because there were too many quarrels. Not willing to lose the city, Guan thought hard and then an idea occurred to him. He suggested the fairies compete to build a city from the dark to the crowing in the next morning and the winner could manage the city. The fairies agreed. Then they began to build the city with the earth brought by their skirts while Guan used the reeds. Guan quickly finished first but the time was not up. Then Guan shook the reed roosts of the roosters, which made them crow. So the fairies had to fly up to heaven shyly. It was also said Zhang Fei, the sworn little brother of Guan, also came to help but was late, so he dropped the earth outside the gate, hence the Mound is also called 'Zhang Fei's load of Earth'.

There are also many other points of interest in Jingzhou like ancient towers and temples. The most famous ones are the Wanshou Baota (the Longevity Pagoda), Kaiyuan Guan, Taihui Guan, Xuanmiao Guan and two temples - Tienv Si and Zhanghua Si. Also in Jinan Town, 5. km. (3.11 miles) away from the Small Northern Gate of Jingzhou, lies the capital of Chu State-Jinan Ancient City. And in the Balingshan National Forest Park, 20 km. (12.43 miles) northwest of Jingzhou, you can find the Balingshan Tumulus Group. Almost all of these relics have been listed as the Cultural Relics of National Importance under the Protection of the State.

 Related Link: Attractions along Yangtze River