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Introduction

Yueyang, also called Yuezhou, is a famous city with a long history of 2,500 years. It is located in the middle reaches of the great Yangtze River, adjoining the well-known Dongting Lake. The city is awarded with some laudatory titles: opening city along the Yangtze; national historical and cultural city; excellent tourist city in China; national sanitary city; national garden city.

Located in the northeast of Hunan Province, Yueyang is considered as the northern gateway of the province. It is also the only city at the riverside of the Yangtze in the province. Within the city are also dotted many lakes and rivers. The city boasts moist climate, distinctive seasons, fresh air and pretty environment.

The advantageous environment blesses the city with abundant tourist attractions. The most famous are Yueyang Pavilion, Dongting Lake and Junshan Island, which are must-see for travelers to Yueyang.

Best Time to Visit
The best time to visit Yueyang is from May to October. During this time Dongting Lake is at the high-flow season and lotus flowers are blooming. Besides, various busy festivals are held during this period, such as Dragon Boat Festival (Lunar May 5^th, featuring dragon boat match) and Double Ninth Festival (Lunar Sept 9^th, featuring uphill on Dayunshan Mountain).

Dining
Also known as 'Homeland of Fish and Rice', Yueyang features rich aquatic products, such as Yangtze river crab, Dongting freshwater shrimp, Xiangyun crucian and carp, silverfish, Chinese sturgeon and turtle. Baling Whole Fish Banquet, the dishes of which are all made of fish, is a famous specialty here. Besides, there are also many local snacks here that are worth trying.

Shopping
Yueyang, as the second strongest city on economy in Hunan (inferior to the capital city Changsha), is also a prosperous commercial city. The modern shopping zones are around Baling Zhonglu, Chengdong Beilu, Chengdong Nanlu and Miaoqian Jie. Local souvenirs here include silverfish, Junshan silver tea, paper fan and plume fan.

Transportation
By Air: At present there is no airport in Yueyang City. Travelers can take the airplane in Changsha or Wuhan. (Ticket selling office: Yueyang Sanhe: 0730-248888, 0730-8221111; Baling: 0730-8842410, 0730-8821111).

By Train: Yueyang Railway Station is located in Xianfeng Road of the city, which can be reached by bus routes No. 5, 15, 17, 36 and others. The station has daily trains to Changsha, Wuhan, Guangzhou, Zhanjiang, Guilin, Nanning, Beijing, Xian, Zhengzhou, Lanzhou, and other cities in China. (Ticket selling office of the station: 0730-1601600)

By Bus: There are four coach stations in the city: Yueyang City Coach Station (at the cross of Baling Zhonglu and Chengdong Beilu), the coach station on Jianshe Beilu, Baling Coach Station (on Chengdong Nanlu) and New Coach Station (Baling Donglu). Buses run to Changsha, Wuhan, Guangzhou, Nanning and other places. (Yueyang City Coach Station: 0730-8227458).

By Water: Yueyang Chenglingji Port at the exit of Dongting Lake is the largest port of Hunan, which has boats to Chongqing, Yichang, Wuhan, Jiujiang, Shanghai, Nanjing and other places (reached by No.22 Bus). There is another wharf behind Yueyang Pavilion, from where you can cruise to Junshan Island, Nanjing, Jiujiang, Hankou and others (reached by No.29 Bus). (Chenglingji Port: 0730-8592439; Yueyang Pavilion Wharf: 0730-8319121)