Private Day Trip to Yueyang from Changsha

Hotel Pick-up & Transfer to Yueyang Tower
Your private guide will be holding GoGrandChina pick-up sign and waiting for you in your hotel lobby (or other appointed meeting place) at the appointed time. You will be transferred to Yueyang Tower (approximately 160km, 2 hours driving) in a comfortable private vehicle.

Visit Yueyang Tower
Yueyang Tower is an ancient Chinese tower on the shore of Lake Dongting. Alongside the Pavilion of Prince Teng and Yellow Crane Tower, it is one of the Three Great Towers of Jiangnan (South of Yangtze River). Yueyang Tower became famous for Memorial to Yueyang Tower written by Fan Zhongyan, an eminent minister of the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) in China. Located on the city wall of the west gate of the ancient city in Yueyang city, Yueyang Tower faces Junshan Island and overlooks Dongting Lake, being exquisite and imposing. Since ancient times, it has enjoyed the good reputation that Dongting Lake is the best among lakes, and Yueyang Tower is incomparable among towers. Yueyang Tower with yellow tiles and overhanging eaves set the green forest off. Its roof covered with yellow glazed tiles has a smooth curve, precipitous yet warped, just like a general’s helmet in ancient China. It is the only ancient building with a helmet roof structure in China.

Dongting Lake
Dongting Lake is a large, shallow lake and a flood basin of the Yangtze River, so its volume depends on the season. The lake’s area, which normally is 2,820 square kilometers or 1,090 square miles, may increase to 20,000 square kilometers (7,700 sq mi) in flood season, when vast amounts of water and sediment from Yangtze River flow into the lake. Dongting Lake is the second-largest fresh water lake, after Poyang Lake, as much of the lake has been turned into farmland. Dongting literally means “Grotto Court”, and the lake was named for the huge hall or cavern, which was believed to exist beneath the lake. Dragon boat racing is said to have begun on the eastern shores of Dongting Lake, and a dragon-king is said to live at the bottom of the lake.

Visit Junshan Island
Take a boat ride across Dongting Lake to reach Junshan Island, formerly a Daoist retreat. This oval-shaped island consists of 72 peaks and it is a 0.96-square-kilometre (0.37 sq mi) in width. Junshan Island is full of historical sites such as the Tomb of Xiangfei. Legend said that 4,000 years ago during Emperor Shun’s inspection visit in the south, two concubines named “Ehuang” and “Nüying” followed him to Dongting Lake, but they were stopped by stormy weather. When they heard that Emperor Shun had died suddenly they cried bitterly that their teardrops turned the bamboo into mottled bamboo. Soon they died of overwhelming sadness and locals built a tomb on Junshan Island to commemorate them. Junshan Island produces a lot of local specialities among which the most famous is Junshan Silver Needle Tea. The tea was listed as a tribute to the imperial family in the Tang dynasty (618–907). The golden tea leaves narrow and thin as needles, are wrapped by a layer of white filaments. When the tea is being brewed, tea leaves first float up to the top and then sink to the bottom in a vertical position as if they were swords standing upward creating a peculiar phenomenon in the tea cup.

Transfer Back to Your Hotel
Your guide and driver will transfer you back to your hotel in Changsha.