Yueyang

Yueyang, city, northern Hunan sheng (province), southeast-central China. It is situated on the east bank of the outlet from the Dongting Lake into the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang), some 5 miles (8 km) from the outlet’s confluence with the Yangtze. Its port on the Yangtze is known as Chenglingji. The city is built on a high bluff well above high-water level, in a good defensive position.

Known as Ximi under the Chu state during the Spring and Autumn (Chunqiu) and the Warring States (Zhanguo) periods (770–476 bce and 475–221 bce, respectively), it was a fortified military stronghold called Baqiu during the Three Kingdoms (Sanguo) period (220–280 ce); a county named Baling was set up there in 280. In 439 it was made a commandery, and in 528 it became a prefecture named Yueyang, whence its present name. After the reunification of China by the Sui dynasty (581–618), it became the prefecture of Yuezhou in 591, retaining that name until 1913. Under the Song dynasty (960–1279) it was heavily fortified, with walls some 4 miles (6.4 km) in circumference. In 1368 the Ming dynasty promoted it to the status of superior prefecture. During the Taiping Rebellion (1850–64), its capture by the rebels in 1852 was an important stage in their advance up the Yangtze River valley to Nanjing, while its recapture in 1854 secured the control of the central government over the middle Yangtze basin. After the foundation of the Chinese republic in 1911, it became a county in 1913, taking the name Yueyang in place of its former county name, Baling, even though it continued to be referred to as Yuezhou. Yueyang briefly held municipal status (1960–62), and it became a county-level city in 1975. It was merged with Yueyang prefecture in 1986 to become a prefecture-level city.

The city was opened to foreign trade in 1898 (as compensation by the Qing dynasty [1644–1911/12] for the rejection of a British loan), and a foreign settlement and commercial establishments were set up at the river port of Chenglingji. The railway from the Hankou in Hubei province (now a district of Wuhan) to Guangzhou (Canton; Guangdong province) passes through Yueyang, connecting it also to Changsha, the provincial capital. Although planned as early as 1898, the section from Hankou to Changsha was completed only in 1917, and the final connection to Guangdong only in 1936. That railway is now part of the main north-south trunk line extending from Beijing to Guangzhou.

In addition to its rail connections, Yueyang is a collecting and transshipment point for water traffic using Dongting Lake, the Xiang River (which flows north into the lake) and its tributaries, and other waterways and lakes in northern Hunan and nearby parts of Hubei and Jiangxi provinces. It exports cotton, grain, beans, and ramie fibre, but its most important trade is in timber. Vast rafts of timber are floated down the waterways to Yueyang, and from there it is either shipped on down the Yangtze or transported elsewhere by rail. A major expressway from Beijing to Zhuzhou (southeast of Changsha) passes through the area via a bridge over a portion of Dongting Lake. Petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, building materials, paper, and textiles are now the main industrial products of the city. Other industries include food processing and the production of feed grains.

A city with a history dating back some 2,500 years, Yueyang attracts large crowds of tourists to its historic locations and scenic sites each year. One of the best-known attractions is the famous Yueyang Tower (or Yueyang Pavilion), located on the shore of Dongting Lake south of the Yangtze. Pop. (2002 est.) city, 522,769; (2007 est.) urban agglom., 826,000.