Yichang

In ancient times Yichang was known as Yiling. Historical records indicate that in the year 278 BC, during the Warring States period, the Qin general Bai Qi set fire to Yiling. In 222 AD Yichang was also the site of the Battle of Yiling, during the Three Kingdoms Period.

Under the Qing Guangxu Emperor, Yichang was opened to foreign commerce as a trading port after the Qing and Great Britain agreed to the Chefoo Convention, which was signed by Sir Thomas Wade and Li Hongzhang in Chefoo on 21 August 1876. The imperial government set up a navigation company there and began building facilities. Since 1949, more than 50 wharves (with a total combined length of over 15 kilometers (9.3 mi)) have been constructed at the port.

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Yichang was a primary supply depot for the defending Chinese army. In October 1938, as the Japanese moved up the Yangtze River towards the strategic city of Chongqing, it became clear that Yichang needed to be evacuated. In 40 days, under the direction of businessman Lu Zuofu, more than 100,000 tons of equipment and 30,000 personnel were transported upstream by steamship or by porters pulling smaller vessels through the Three Gorges rapids to Chongqing.[4][5]

In 1940, the Battle of Zaoyang-Yichang took place in the area.

Administratively, it is a prefecture-level city; its municipal government has jurisdiction over five counties, five urban districts, and three satellite county-level cities (Yidu, Dangyang, Zhijiang).[1][6][7]

• Xiling District (西陵区) - includes the city center
• Wujiagang District (伍家岗区) - southeastern parts of the urban area and suburbs
• Dianjun District (点军区) - the part of the urban area southwest of the Yangtze (across from the city center) and suburbs
• Xiaoting District (猇亭区)
• Yiling District (夷陵区) - northern part of the urban area and suburbs
• Zhijiang City (枝江市)
• Yidu City (宜都市)
• Dangyang City (当阳市)
• Yuan'an County (远安县)
• Xingshan County (兴山县)
• Zigui County (秭归县) - a county whose seat (Maoping) is some 50 kilometers (31 mi) west of downtown Yichang, next to the Three Gorges Dam
• Changyang Tujia Autonomous County (长阳土家族自治县)
• Wufeng Tujia Autonomous County (五峰土家族自治县)

Administrative map

The prefecture-level city of Yichang has direct jurisdiction over 14 divisions: 5 districts (区; qū), 3 county-level cities (县级市; xiànjí shì), 3 counties (县; xiàn), and 3 autonomous counties (自治县; zìzhì xiàn).:

Map
1 2 3 Dianjun Yiling Yuan'an County Xingshan County Zigui County Changyang County Wufeng County Yidu (city) Dangyang (city) Zhijiang (city) 1. Xiling 2. Wujiagang 3. Xiaoting
Name	Hanzi	Hanyu Pinyin	Population (2010 census) [8]	Area (/km2) [9]	Density (/km2)
Districts
Xiling District	西陵区	Xīlíng Qū	512,074	68.14	7,515.03
Wujiagang District	伍家岗区	Wǔjiāgǎng Qū	214,194	84.03	2549.02
Dianjun District	点军区	Diǎnjūn Qū	103,696	533.23	194.47
Xiaoting District	猇亭区	Xiāotíng Qū	61,230	130.40	469.55
Yiling District	夷陵区	Yílíng Qū	520,186	3,416.57	152.25
County-level cities
Yidu	宜都市	Yídū Shì	384,598	1,354.83	283.87
Dangyang	当阳市	Dāngyáng Shì	468,293	2,148.82	217.93
Zhijiang	枝江市	Zhījiāng Shì	644,835	2,010.00	321
Counties
Yuan'an County	远安县	Yuǎn'ān Xiàn	184,532	1,741.06	105.99
Xingshan County	兴山县	Xīngshān Xiàn	231,536	480.20	73.69
Zigui County	秭归县	Zǐguī Xiàn	367,107	2,273.80	161.45
Autonomous counties
Changyang Tujia Autonomous County	长阳土家族自治县	Chángyáng Tǔjiāzú Zìzhìxiàn	388,228	3418.82	113.56
Wufeng Tujia Autonomous County	五峰土家族自治县	Wǔfēng Tǔjiāzú Zìzhìxiàn	188,923	2,370.41	79.70

A sand table in Yichang Planning Exhibition Hall.

Like most prefecture-level cities, Yichang includes both an urban area (which is labeled on less detailed maps as "Yichang") and the surrounding country area. It covers 21,084 square kilometers (8,141 sq mi) in Western Hubei Province, on both sides of the Yangtze River. The Xiling Gorge, the easternmost of the Three Gorges on the Yangtze, is located within the prefecture-level city.

Within the prefecture-level city of Yichang, the Yangtze is joined by a number of tributaries, including the Qing River (right), Xiang Xi and Huangbo Rivers (left).

The central urban area of Yichang is split between several districts. On the right (northeastern) bank of the Yangtze are located Xiling District (where the city center is located), Yiling District (neighborhoods north of the center) and Wujiagang District (southern area). The city area on the opposite (southeastern) bank of the river is included into Dianjun District. All these districts, with the exception of the central Xiling, also include a fair amount of suburban/rural area outside of the city urban core.

Huangling Temple, Sandouping

As of the 2020 census, its population was 4,017,607 inhabitants of whom 1,536,012 lived in the built-up (or metro) area consisting of Yiling, Xiling, Wujiagang and Dianjun urban districts. The Xiaoting District has not yet been urbanized. Yichang prefecture-level city, is home to many members of the Tujia ethnic group, who mostly live in several counties in the south-west of the prefecture.

Yichang also formed the border between the cultures of Ba in the west (an ancient state in the eastern part of what is now Sichuan Province) and the Chu State in the east (an ancient state in what is now Hubei Province and northern Hunan Province).

Since 2002, Yichang City has been home of the China Three Gorges University (the result of the merger of the University of Hydraulic & Electric Engineering, Yichang and of Hubei Sanxia University), the largest comprehensive university in Hubei Province outside Wuhan, with over 20,400 full-time students.

• China Three Gorges University
• Three Gorges Vocational College of Electric Power

There are 170 secondary schools in Yichang enrolling 150,700 students. 53,900 of the citizens in Yichang hold a secondary school degree. There are 282 elementary schools being located in Yichang enrolling 156,900. 27,600 of the citizens hold secondary school degrees. 383 kindergartens located in Yichang with 78,500 children.

Yichang has long been a major transit port and distribution center of goods, and serves as the economic hub of western Hubei province and an intermediary between the major cities of Chongqing and Wuhan. Its primary industries are shipping and shipbuilding, taking advantage of its location on the Yangtze River.

Yichang prefecture is the site of many major hydroelectricity projects. The best known of them are the two huge dams on the Yangtze River: the Gezhouba Dam (located just upstream of Yichang central city) and Three Gorges Dam, which is 40 kilometers (25 mi) upstream. The Geheyan Dam and Gaobazhou Dam on the Qing River are important as well. Besides those, a huge number of medium-sized and small power plants operate on smaller rivers and streams within the prefecture.

Yichang skyline

• 
  Wenfo mountain
• 
  Yangtze River
• 
  Qing River
• 
  Guanzhuang Reservoir
• 
  Huangbo River
• 
  Tribe of Three Gorges
• 
  Three Gorges Waterfall
• 
  Boats on the Yangtze River, upstream from the Three Gorges
• 
  Christianity in Yichang
• 
  Roman Catholic Diocese of Yichang
• 
  Yichang Yangtze River Railway Bridge
• 
  Zhenjiang Pavilion
• 
  Tianran Pagoda
• 
  Statue of Quyuan
• 
  Three Gorges University
• 
  Yiling High School

• List of twin towns and sister cities in China

• Report on the Physical, Commercial, Social and General Conditions of Ichang and Neighborhood. H. A. Little. (Diplo. and Cons. Rpts. [London], Misc. Ser., 1908, No. 671, p. 24).— C. F. Langworthy.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yichang.

Look up Yichang, Ichang, or I-ch'ang in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Yichang.

• Official website of Yichang Government - English version Archived 2019-10-21 at the Wayback Machine