Yichang (宜昌) is a city in the Hubei province of China.

Geography

Yichang covers 21,084 km². It sits in western Hubei Province at the eastern end of the Xiling gorge (西陵峡), one of the Three Gorges on the Yangtze River. The temperature averages 16-18°C.

Demographics

Yichang has a population of 3.89 million and is inhabited by Tujia ethnic group. Yichang is also a place connecting the cultures of Ba in the west (an ancient state in the eastern part of what is now Sichuan Province) and Chu State in the east (an ancient state in what is now Hubei Province and northern Hunan Province).

Economy

Yichang has long been a major transit port and distribution center of goods. It is fueled by the Gezhouba Hydra Project (Gezhouba Dam) and the Three Gorges Dam, which is 40 km upstream.

History

In ancient times Yichang was known as Yiling. There are historical records telling that in the year 278 BC during the Warring States period the Qin general Bai Qi set fire to Yiling. Yichang was also the site of a famous battle during the Three Kingdoms era, the Battle of Yiling.

In 1876, under the Qing Emperor Guangxu, Yichang was opened to foreign trade as a trading port after the Second Opium War with Britain. The imperial government set up a navigation company there. Also wharves were built, but before 1949 the wharf area was only less than half a kilometer in length. After 1949, more than 50 wharves have been constructed at the port so that its wharf area is now over 15 km long. There are the shiplocks at Gezhouba Water Control Project.