Located on the Sheshan Hill in Wuchang District of Wuhan City in Hubei Province, the Yellow Crane Tower is one of the Three Great Towers south of the Yangtze River in China. When talking about the Yellow Crane Tower, the famous poem “the Yellow Crane Tower” written by Cui Hao, a poet of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), always comes to mind. Its beautiful lines read: Where long ago a yellow crane bore a sage to Heaven, All that here remains is Yellow Crane Tower, The yellow crane once gone does not return, White clouds hover in vain for a thousand years.
The splendid and magnificent Yellow Crane Tower stands on the Sheshan Hill, looking down on the Yangtze River. Many historical eminent people wrote poems, songs, couplets, epigraphs and prose about the tower. It had been ruined many times by war or fire, but always rebuilt again. Every time the reconstruction gave the tower a different appearance, but one thing remained constant: the tower stood tall, vigorous and firm, with a strong character. The existing tower was reconstruced from 1981 to 1985.
The construction of the Yellow Crane Tower started in the second year of Huangwu Period of the Wu Kingdom (i.e. 223). Many stories were told about the origins of the tower. This was the most popular: Once upon a time, a businessman, with the family name Xin, ran a small restaurant on the Sheshan Hill. One day, a ragged man, looking like a Taoist, came in and asked: “Can I have a cup of drink?” Xin didn’t snub him on account of his poor appearance, but rather offered him a generous cup of wine. For half a year, this strange guest kept returning every day and asking for a drink never offering to pay anything. However, Xin never complained about it. He just gave him the wine as usual. One day the guest said to Xin, “I owe you a lot of money, but I have nothing to pay you.” At that point he picked up a piece of orange peel and etched a yellow crane on the wall. Later, it was discovered that the crane could dance to the beat every time people clapped or sang in the restaurant. This wonder brought in many customers and the place became famous. Xin made a lot of money from the crane. The next time the guest came to the house, Xin went to say thanks to him. He just smiled, and took out a flute and played several melodies. Suddenly white clouds came down from the sky. The crane flew off of the wall and stopped in front of the ragged man. He got onto the crane and flew away with the clouds. To commemorate his special guest, Xin built a tower with the money that he had earned over the last few years. It was called “Xinshilou Tower” at first, but later changed its name to “Yellow Crane Tower”.
Undoubtedly, this is just a charming story. There was continuous warfare during the Three Kingdoms period (220-280). A building sitting on top of a hill by the river bank had obvious military advantages. Some time later, with the ending of war and the development of the economy, the Yellow Crane Tower evolved into a popular tourist destination.
