Jingzhou

Jingzhou is a city in the Hubei Province of China, on the banks of the Yangtze River.

Geography
The municipality has an area of 14,067 km². It is higher on the west and lower on the east. It is densely covered by a network of waterways, as well as lakes.

Jingzhou is located on the middle reaches of the Yangzi River (Chang Jiang), in the Jianghan Plain. To its east--downstream--lies Wuhan, the provincial capital; to its west--upstream, in the unemprovinced municipal region of Chongqing--are the Three Gorges. Jingmen municipality, also in Hubei, lies to the north; to its south are Yueyang and Changde, in Hunan province.

History
Jingzhou has been a transportation hub and distribution center of commodities for 6,000 years. The ancient city of Jingzhou is what is now Jiangling District of Jingzhou City. It is situated in the middle reaches of the Chang Jiang, a strategic place of military importance since ancient times.

Jingzhou was the capital of 20 kings over 411 years of the State of Chu during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States of the Zhou Dynasty. The city is said to have been built with earth by Guan Yu in the Three Kingdoms period. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties period, it was the capital of the Western Liang. In the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, it was the capital of the Nanping State.

Sights
Numerous sites have been preserved from the Chu State period, including the ruins of five Chu cities, 73 sites of the Chu Culture and more than 800 large ancient tombs, including those of 18 Chu kings.

There are also historical sites from the Three Kingdoms period, such as the Wulin Battlefield (Battle of Red Cliffs) and Huarong Path. MuseumThe city walls were rebuilt in 1646 and measure 9 meters in height and 10 meters in depth. The perimeter of the wall extends for 9.3 kilometers. The city walls, city gates, watchtowers, and battlements have been maintained well. Many of the towers on top of the majestic city gates have been damaged or rebuilt, only leaving the Chaozong Tower which was rebuilt in 1838 on the Gongji Gate.

The Jingzhou museum is well-known, most notably for a well-preserved 2,000-year-old male corpse. Also on display are silk and lacquerware from the Warring States Period.