White Emperor City
Located on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, the White Emperor City is an onshore excursion on most Yangtze River Cruises. The city, also known as White Emperor Temple is near the mouth of the Outang Gorge, one of the Three Gorges.
During the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-24AD), a separatist general, Gongsun Shu, crowned himself the King of Shu and when at the site he saw a white for rising from the well on the mountain and the fog looked like a writhing dragon, so he called himself the White Emperor and made his capital at the site. The city has been rebuilt many times and the existing buildings were rebuilt during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) Dynasties. The two most famous structures in the city are the Tuogu Tang Hall, Known for its beautiful architecture, and the Guanxing Ting Pavilion. There are also several other places of note; the stele forest, ancient hanging coffins, both are very popular with visitors.
