The Yellow Crane Tower is located in Wuchang District, Wuhan City, Hubei Province. It is located on the top of Snake Mountain and borders the Yangtze River. It is a landmark building in Wuhan City. It was first built in the second year of Huangwu in the Three Kingdoms period (223 AD) and has been rebuilt many times in successive dynasties. The existing building is designed based on the "Tongzhi Tower" in the Qing Dynasty and was rebuilt in 1985. It is famous for the poem "Yellow Crane Tower" written by Cui Hao, a poet in the Tang Dynasty. It has been known as "the most beautiful scenery in the world" since ancient times. It is known as one of the "three major scenic spots in Wuhan" together with Qingchuan Pavilion and Guqin Terrace, and one of the "three famous towers in Jiangnan" together with Yueyang Tower in Yueyang, Hunan and Tengwang Pavilion in Nanchang, Jiangxi. It is the first of the "Ten Major Scenic Spots in Wuhan", one of the "Four Famous Towers in Ancient China", and one of the "Ten Famous Historical and Cultural Towers in China". It is known as the "No. 1 Tower in the World".
The main building of the Yellow Crane Tower is an octagonal structure with four sides and a reinforced concrete frame imitation wood structure. It is 51.4 meters high, 30 meters wide on the bottom floor and 18 meters wide on the top floor. It has five layers of flying eaves and a pointed roof covered with golden glazed tiles, supported by 72 columns. There are 60 corners extending outwards on the upper floor. Outside the building, there are cast copper yellow cranes, Shengxiang pagodas, archways, corridors, pavilions and other buildings. The whole building is shaped like a yellow crane, spreading its wings and about to fly. There are plaques hanging on all four sides under the eaves, and a golden plaque with the three characters "Yellow Crane Tower" written by calligrapher Shu Tong on the front.
First floor
The first floor is a tall and spacious hall, with a caisson in the middle that is more than 10 meters high. On the front wall is a huge ceramic mural of "White Clouds and Yellow Cranes". On the pillars on both sides are 7-meter-long couplets: The refreshing air comes from the west, and the clouds and mists sweep away the regrets of the world; the great river flows east, and the waves wash away the sorrows of the past and the present.
Second floor
On the front wall of the second floor hall, there is a marble engraved "Yellow Crane Tower Record" written by Yan Boli of the Tang Dynasty, which records the rise and fall of the Yellow Crane Tower and celebrity anecdotes; on both sides of the tower record are two murals, one of which is "Sun Quan Building the City", which vividly illustrates the history of the birth of the Yellow Crane Tower and Wuchang City; the other is "Zhou Yu Holding a Banquet", which reflects the activities of celebrities from the Three Kingdoms going to the Yellow Crane Tower.
Third floor
The murals in the third floor hall are "embroidered portraits" of celebrities from the Tang and Song Dynasties, such as Cui Hao, Li Bai, Bai Juyi, etc., and their famous lines chanting the Yellow Crane Tower are also excerpted.
Fourth floor
The fourth floor hall is divided into several small halls by screens, and contemporary celebrity calligraphy and paintings are built in for tourists to appreciate and purchase.
Fifth Floor
The fifth floor lobby has long scrolls and murals such as "A Thousand Miles of the Yangtze River" on display.
