Yuewang Tower 越王楼

About Yuewang Tower

Yuewang Tower (越王楼) is a rebuilt Tang-dynasty tower on the summit of Turtle Hill (龟山) above the Fu River (涪江) in Mianyang (绵阳), Sichuan, in the city's Youxian District (游仙区). It stands on the site of a tower raised by Li Zhen (李贞), Prince of Yue and eighth son of Emperor Taizong of Tang.

Li Zhen built the first tower while governing Mianzhou (绵州), in the Xianqing (显庆) reign of Emperor Gaozong; Chinese Wikipedia dates it to 656. Xinhua counts it with the Yellow Crane Tower (黄鹤楼), Yueyang Tower (岳阳楼) and the Pavilion of Prince Teng (滕王阁) as one of the four famous towers of the Tang, and Chinese Wikipedia puts its original height at 100 chi, about 30 m, the tallest of the four. The Mianyang city government records more than 150 poems about the tower, by Li Bai (李白), Du Fu (杜甫) and most leading poets after the Tang, which is why some scholars call it "the first tower of poetry under heaven" (天下诗文第一楼).

The tower did not last. Chinese Wikipedia notes that Emperor Xuanzong came to it in 756 while fleeing to Shu (蜀) during the An Lushan Rebellion (安史之乱), and that a poem by Lu You (陆游) and a hanging scroll by Zhao Boju (赵伯驹) show it still stood in the Southern Song. Twice in the Yuan and Ming it was lost and rebuilt, and in the last years of the Ming it was destroyed once more; in the Qing, Li Tiaoyuan (李调元) wrote that he could no longer see the terrace, only the clear river flowing past.

Rebuilding began on the old hilltop site in late 2001. Xinhua reported the aim as bringing back the scene of the line "a perilous tower a hundred chi high, where a hand could pluck the stars" (危楼高百尺，手可摘星辰). The new tower rises 99 m in 15 storeys, with Tang-style bracket sets and upswept hip-and-gable eaves. The city government lists its halls on Tang culture, Mianyang's famous historical figures, China's famous towers and Li Zhen, together with the Mianyang Art Museum, and it is a national AAAA scenic area and a national cluster for night-time culture and tourism.

What to look for

• The 99 m, 15-storey rebuilt tower on Turtle Hill, above the Fu River
• The Tang Culture Hall (唐文化馆)
• The Hall of Mianyang's Famous Historical Figures (绵阳历史名人馆)
• The China Famous Towers Hall (中国名楼馆)
• The exhibition on Li Zhen and Yuewang Tower (李贞与越王楼)
• The Mianyang Art Museum (绵阳美术馆) inside the tower
• The tower after dark: the site is listed as a national cluster for night-time culture and tourism

Location & getting there

Getting to Yuewang Tower

• Search for 越王楼 with 绵阳市 and 游仙区.