Attractions
Jingzhou Travel Guide
Jingzhou is the birthplace of Chu culture and it was an important battlefield in ancient times. The outline of the old city of Jingzhou had changed little since the Three Kingdoms period, thus many Relics of Three Kingdoms can be found in the city. The city also boasts beautiful natural scenery, such as Weishui River Scenic Area, Honghu Lake Holiday Resort and Elk Natural Reserve.
Chinese Name:荆州
English Name: Jingzhou
Area: 14,104km²
Population: 6,650,000
Nationalities: Han, Hui, Manchu, Tujia, Miao and Mongolian
Area Code: 0716
Zip Code: 434020
Time Zone: (UTC+8)
Being a prefecture-level city in southern Hubei, Jingzhou situated at the Jianghan Plain, close to the Golden Waterway; Wuhan to the east, Yichang south, and the Jingmen city north; bordering on the Three Gorges Dam. Jingzhou has jurisdiction over two districts, Jingzhou district and Shashi district.
History
Jingzhou has been a transportation hub and commodity distribution center for 6,000 years. It is one of the cradles of Chu Culture, and used to be the capital of the Chu State during the Spring and Autumn Period for totally 20 emperors. Later in the Three Kingdoms Period (220 - 280), Jingzhou became a place of strategic importance and some famous stories of The Romance of Three Kingdoms just occured here.
Attractions
Jingzhou Ancient City
Jingzhou Ancient City has well-preserved ancient city walls which are rare in South China. The city's walls were destroyed and rebuilt several times through the city's history. A large number of precious cultural relics have been unearthed from here. Among them, the Corpse of the Western Han Dynasty (a well preserved corpse), Silk of the Warring States Period, and the Sword of Gou Jian (the King of Yue) are regarded as national treasures. In addition, Jingzhou is also the place where Guan Yu and his army experienced their final failure. Inside the city wall, there are six memorial temples dedicated to Guan Yu.
Honghu Lantian Eco-agricultural Tourism Garden
Honghu Lake is one of the unpolluted large fresh water lakes remaining in the world. This state-level wetland nature reserve has large water bodies with a straight lakeshore and flat lakebeds. Its aquatic life is rich with shrimps, fish, wild ducks and transient geese. In addition to abundant aquatic life, Honghu Lantian Eco-agricultural Tourism Garden boasts gorgeous sceneries with each season showcasing new unique features.
Other attractions in Jingzhou: Jingzhou Museum, Balingshan National Forest Park and two temples - Tienv Si and Zhanghua Si, etc.
Transportation
By Air
Jingzhou Shashi airport that is not very big has routes to 15 domestic cities including: Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Xiamen and other cities.
By Bus
The major long distance bus stations are the Shashi Long Distance Bus Station, the Shashi Red Avenues Bus Station and the Jiangling Central Station. Buses from major cities, such as Shanghai, Xi’an, Shenzhen, Hankou, Wuchang and Changsha, can reach Jingzhou. It is 179 km. (111.23 miles) away from Wuhan City.
By Train
In Jingzhou City, the only train station that handles some passenger transport is the Songzi Railway Station on the Jiaoliu Railway. From this station you can reach other places around the country by transferring to other trains in other railway stations.
Waterway
The Jingzhou port is the third largest port along the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River, after Wuhan and Chongqing. River passenger transport here is handled by the Jingzhou Water Travelling Corporation. Address: Port Apartment No. 21, Linjiang Road, Shashi District. Tel: 0716-8213225
City Transportation
The bus fare is CNY 1 per person, and some buses charge according to the distance. Visitors can take some changes for some buses are self-service types. Taxies running in the city are light blue and red cars with a sign “TAXI” on the top. When arriving in Jingzhou city, you can take Bus No. 18 or Bus No. 16 to the East Gate and No. 15 to the New South Gate.
Weather and climate
Subtropical humid monsoon climate; four distinct seasons; cloudy and sunny not certain in spring, humid and hot summer, fine autumns, dry cold winter; plenty of sunshine; average Temperature: 16 C annually. Plenty of rainfall concentrated on June, July and August, as well as spring
Food and Restaurants
You’d better have a taste of the “Three Treasures of Jingzhou” during your trip, which are Steamed Fish Cake, Braised pork and Steamed Sticky Rice. There are also many tasty snacks, such as fried eel, preserved duck egg and fried glutinous rice cake. Many local snacks can be found in Shashi district, East Gate and Guandi Temple at Old South Gate.
Accommodation
Recommended hotels
Hongyan Grand Hotel: No. 263 Jiangjin Road Tel: 0716-8263388
Jingzhou Hotel: No.4 Yingbin Road
Haihua Guesthouse: Jingbei Road Tel: 0716-8437998
Shopping
Beijing Road, Zhongshan Road Pedestrian Street, Time Square, Zhongbai Shopping Mall, Zhongshang Department Store and New Century are all big shopping centers in Jingzhou. Handicraft and local products are the best choice, for instance, Jiangling Lacquer Ware, Jingzhou Silk and Satins, Honghu Shell Carving, etc.
Travel tips
There is 'Jingzhou International Dragon Boat Festival in the first week of May, for the memorial of Qu Yuan. Spring and autumn are the best period to see the city.
Bank of China: No.217 Jiangjian Road in Shashi, Jingzhou
