Yellow Crane Tower
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Wuhan by Wolf and Yanick
Once we finished our visits in Xi'an, we take the night train K242 to Wuhan, about 800 km away. The picture on the right gives you some orientation. The yellow crane tower is one of the most spectacular sites in Wuhan and stands close to the Yangtze river, right in the city center. It is one of the four great towers of China.

Originally it wa built in AD 223, during the Three Kingdoms Period as a Wu Kingdom military tower. The tower has been destructed several times and is today placed one kilometre (0.6 mile) from its original site.

The tower today is 52 metres high with five stores and the architecture of the existing tower is from the Qing Dynasty and it was completed first in 1985. Placed on the top of Snake Hill you have a 360 degree view from the top of the tower over Wuhan and a magnificent view northwards over the great Yangtse (Chanjiang) River. You can already experience the view by following this link. When you press the little dots and arrows on the screen, you can switch to similar pictures, taken nearby. View from the top of yellow crane tower and View from below

According to legend, Yellow Crane Tower was built by the family of an old pothouse owner living in Wuhan City long ago, named Old Xin. One day, a shabbily dressed Taoist priest came to the pothouse and asked for some wine. Old Xin paid no attention to him, but his son was very kind and gave the Taoist some wine without asking for money. The Taoist priest visited the pothouse regularly for half a year when one day the Taoist said to the son that in order to repay his kindness, he would like to draw a crane on the wall of the pothouse, which would dance at his request. When people in the city heard of this, they flocked to the pothouse to see the dancing crane. The Xin family soon became rich and they built the Yellow Crane Tower as a symbol of gratitude to the Taoist priest.

A famous poem about the yellow crane tower, translated in English:
My old friend's said goodbye to the west, here at Yellow Crane Tower,
In the third month's cloud of willow blossoms, he's going down to Yangzhou.
The lonely sail is a distant shadow, on the edge of a blue emptiness,
All I see is the Yangtze River flow to the far horizon.

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sources: wuhan.com, wikipedia, travelchinaguide.com

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