Get to know Yongji
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- Administrative area
- County-level city · 县级市
- Part of
- Yuncheng
- Chinese name
- 永济市
- Local areas
- County-level city guide
Area & population
- Area in the source
- 1,221.10 km²
- Population · 2017
- 452,000
Source: cited geographic source, as of the dates shown.
Setting and landscape
Across the Yellow River lie Dali (大荔县) and Heyang (合阳县) counties in Shaanxi, with the border drawn along the middle of the river. The city itself spreads over flat land on the west shore of Wuxing Lake (伍姓湖) below the main peak of the Zhongtiao range, and the southern Tongpu railway (南同蒲铁路) and the Sushui River (涑水河) run side by side through it. The city government seat is 56 kilometres from Yuncheng.
What to see
Stork Tower (鹳雀楼) stands in Puzhou town (蒲州镇). It was first built under the Northern Zhou as a military watchtower and burned in 1222 during fighting between the Jin and the Mongols. The present tower, a reinforced-concrete building in Tang style 73.9 metres high, was finished in 2002. It is known through a Tang poem by Wang Zhihuan (王之涣), and a bronze statue of the poet stands inside. The Yongji government lists it as one of China's four great towers.
The Pujin Ferry (蒲津渡) was a Yellow River crossing between Shanxi and Shaanxi, served by a pontoon bridge from 541 BC. In 724 the Tang court rebuilt the bridge and set four iron oxen on the east and west banks to anchor it and hold back the river; excavations in 1991 brought up iron oxen and iron figures, and the ferry and the ruins of old Puzhou have been nationally protected since 2001. Pujiu Temple (普救寺), near the ruins of the old city of Puzhou (蒲州), is the setting of the love story of 'Romance of the Western Chamber' (西厢记); its relic pagoda is now called Yingying Pagoda (莺莺塔) after the heroine, and its main buildings were restored after 1986.
In the city, Liu Park (柳园) holds a memorial hall to the Tang writer Liu Zongyuan (柳宗元), whom the city counts among its historical figures. The Yongji government also names Wulao Peak (五老峰), known as the 'Eastern Mount Hua', and the birthplace of Yang Guifei (杨贵妃) among local sights.
Highlights
- Stork Tower 鹳雀楼: Tang-style tower rebuilt in 2002 at Puzhou, 73.9 metres high; known from Wang Zhihuan's poem.
- Pujin Ferry Archaeological Site 蒲津渡遗址: Yellow River crossing where Tang iron oxen of 724 anchored a pontoon bridge; excavated in 1991.
- Pujiu Temple 普救寺: Setting of 'Romance of the Western Chamber', with the Yingying Pagoda.
- Liu Park 柳园: City park with a memorial hall to Liu Zongyuan.
- Wulao Peak 五老峰: Mountain known as the 'Eastern Mount Hua'.
Sources for this guide
自然地理-永济市人民政府门户网站 · Yongji Municipal People's Government
文说永济-永济市人民政府门户网站 · Yongji Municipal People's Government
鹳雀楼 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书 · Wikipedia (Chinese) · CC BY-SA 4.0
蒲津渡 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书 · Wikipedia (Chinese) · CC BY-SA 4.0
普救寺 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书 · Wikipedia (Chinese) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Original English written from the listed sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer. Updated 2026-09-25.
Explore Yongji
Core places to explore, with English and Chinese names.
Places to explore around Yongji
Pujin Ferry Archaeological Site · 蒲津渡遗址Pujin Ferry Archaeological Site蒲津渡遗址
The Pujin Ferry site near Yongji preserves remains associated with a historic Yellow River crossing.
Read the place guide →Pujiu Temple and its pagoda in Yongji · 永济普救寺与寺内古塔 Source-recorded photograph date: 2017-10-06 14:12:54.Pujiu Temple普救寺
Pujiu Temple near Puzhou is inseparable from The Romance of the Western Chamber, whose fictional lovers made the site a literary destination. Yingying Pagoda, named after the story's heroine, supplies the most distinctive…
Read the place guide →
Stork Tower in Yongji, Shanxi · 山西永济鹳雀楼 Source-recorded photograph date: 2020-09-17 16:43:48.Stork Tower鹳雀楼
Stork Tower, or Guanque Lou, is a modern reconstruction of a famous tower associated with Wang Zhihuan's Tang poem. Its appeal lies in the broad Yellow River landscape and the attempt to give that literary image architectural…
Read the place guide →Plan your visit
Getting there
Yongji is about 55 km in a straight line from central Yuncheng. Search for 永济市 in a map app to find stations and your accommodation.
Where to stay →Build your route
Pujin Ferry Archaeological Site and Pujiu Temple are both listed here. The linked place guides have entrance and visit details.
Continue with Yuncheng →More in Yuncheng
Sources & geographic information
Administrative names and parent areas: Official geographic directory · Reference date 2026-09-06.
Some facts checked against 鹳雀楼 — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Some facts checked against 蒲津渡 — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Some facts checked against 普救寺 — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo: Pujin Ferry Archaeological Site · Source photographer · License not provided. EXIF orientation normalized; resized without changing aspect ratio; converted to WebP. No subject edits.
Photo: Pujiu Temple · hwcmsb@126 · CC BY 2.5. Full frame retained; resized proportionally to a maximum dimension of 960 pixels and converted to WebP quality 88. No crop, retouch, generated elements, or subject alteration. Final website rendition: full frame retained, proportionally resized to at most 720 pixels and converted to WebP. No additional retouching or subject alteration. Card displays may crop the view.
Photo: Stork Tower · Yanxutong1215 · CC BY-SA 4.0. Full-frame source proportionally resized and converted to WebP for display. No subject alteration. Source-supplied marks and edits remain; cards may crop the view.
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