Yichang

Yichang is a prefecture-level city in Hubei Province of China.

Geography
As most prefecture-level cities, Yichang includes both an urban area (what's labeled on less detaield map as "Yichang") and the surrounding country area. It covers 21,084 km2 in Western Hubei Province, on both sides of the Chang Jiang (Yangtze) River. The Xiling Gorge, the easternmost of the Three Gorges on the Yangtze River, is located within the prefecture-level city.

Within the prefecture-level city of Yichang, Chang Jiang's is joined by a number of tributaries, including the Qing River (Qing Jiang) (left), Xiang Xi and Huangbo Rivers (right).

The central urban area of Yichang is split between several districts. On the right (northeastern) bank of the Chang Jiang are located Xiling District (where the city center is located), Yiling District (neighborhoods north of the center) and Wujiagang District (southern area). The city area on the opposite (southeastern) bank of the river is included into Dianjun District. All these districts, with the exception of the central Xiling, also include a fair amount of suburban/rural area outside of the city urban core. The temperature averages 16 - 18 °C (61 - 64 °F).

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. Wharves were built as well, 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.

During WWII when China was fighting with Japan, an encounter battle (Hui Zhan) happened in the area.