Yichang
 A
transport terminus on the Yangzi 120km west
from Jingzhou, YICHANG was an important
commercial centre under the Han, and later
became a treaty port. Fading during the
early twentieth century, the blossoming
of Yangzi tourism, as well as the building
of the Gezhou dam upstream (not to mention
the Three Gorges dam ), has seen an optimistic
renaissance replacing the once decrepit
atmosphere. That said, there's little of
interest in the modern city centre - glaring
and shadeless in summer - but animated evening
scenery along the river compensates, with
water traffic moored up, nightclub barges
throbbing to karaoke efforts, and crowds
flying kites, gorging themselves on shellfish
at nearby street restaurants or just sitting
on the banks cooling off with ice creams.
You may well end up here for a night; aside
from the river, Yichang marks the start
of routes north to Shennongjia , while the
town is also on the rail line between Xi'an
and Hunan.
Yichang stretches along the
Yangzi's northern bank for around 5km directly
below the Gezhou dam, with buses and trains
pulling in near each other on Dongshan Dadao.
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