Dongpo Red Cliff 东坡赤壁

About Dongpo Red Cliff

Pavilions, memorial halls and inscribed versions of his writings turn a riverside association into a landscape of remembrance. The Two Odes Hall and Dongpo Shrine are useful anchors for reading the site, while Qixia Tower adds a higher architectural viewpoint. Many present buildings reflect later reconstruction. This Huanggang attraction is distinct from the Three Kingdoms battlefield marketed at Chibi, and the poet’s Red Cliff imagery should not be used to conflate them.

The site was originally a rocky outcrop of red-brown stone on the north bank of the Yangtze River, known as Chibi or Chi'an; sedimentation has since left it several hundred meters from the river. Su Shi (苏轼) wrote 'Ode to the Red Cliffs' (赤壁赋) and other works here during his exile in Huangzhou under the Northern Song. In the late Kangxi era (康熙), Huangzhou prefect Guo Chaozuo (郭朝祚) renamed the site 'Dongpo Chibi'. Most of the present buildings were rebuilt in 1868 under prefect Yingqi (英启).

In the late Qing, the scholar Yang Shoujing (杨守敬) compiled Ming- and Qing-dynasty steles and had stonemasons recut rubbings of Su Shi's calligraphy, producing 139 tablets set into the site's pavilions; further inscriptions were added during the Republic era. The site was listed as a Hubei provincial cultural heritage site in 1956 under the name 'Huangzhou Chibi' (黄州赤壁), then designated a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level (全国重点文物保护单位) in 2006 as 'Dongpo Chibi'.

What to look for

• The Two Odes Hall and inscribed commemoration of Su Shi’s writing.
• Dongpo Shrine and Qixia Tower within the later memorial landscape.

Location & getting there

Getting to Dongpo Red Cliff

Use the Dongpo Red Cliff entrance at No 11 Gongyuan Road in Huangzhou District, Huanggang. Specify Huanggang when searching for transport, because Chibi’s battlefield is a different destination.