The Yellow Crane Tower is the enduring symbol of the Chinese city of Wuhan, in Hubei Province, central China. It endures because the first structure referred to as the Yellow Crane Tower was put together in 233 AD, but was later destroyed and then rebuilt, and subsequently destroyed, and then rebuilt, and so on and so on (you get the idea). After each time it was destroyed the citizens of Wuhan would build another, always in the same location, Snake Hill, and always larger and better than before.
The history surrounding the Yellow Crane Tower is very long and very complex. In 223, during the Three Kingdoms Period (220 – 280), Snake Hill was chosen as the site for a watchtower which would stand guard for Sun Quan, King of Wu. After hundreds of years of being an army lookout, the Yellow Crane’s military function was gradually forgotten and the tower was enjoyed mainly as a picturesque location for locals to relax. This led to many popular poems being written during the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907), praising the beauty and strength of the Yellow Crane Tower. These poems (over 300 have survived to the present) made the Tower renowned, and gave the locals a sense of enormous pride which translated into a need to see Yellow Crane rebuilt each time it was damaged. During the Ming (1368 – 1644) and Qing (1644 – 1911) Dynasties alone the tower was destroyed seven times and rebuilt seven times. In 1884, it was completely destroyed in a fire and was not rebuilt until 1981. The current tower is a five-story building 50.4 meters (165.4 ft) tall featuring murals, statues of famous poets, poems and paintings inside the tower. Standing on the Yellow Crane’s balcony one can overlook the beautiful landscape of Wuhan as well as the remarkable Yangtze River.
There are several legends surrounding how “Yellow Crane” received its name. One features a kind young man named Xin who opened a wine shop at the top of Snake Hill. A Taoist priest asked for wine one day and Xin being so generous, he served the Taoist priest for free. So the Taoist priest painted a crane on the wall, which would dance whenever people clapped. Xin’s patrons were so amazed by the performing crane that they kept going back over and over again to the wine shop. Xin became rich, and ten years later, the Taoist priest revisited the shop and rode the magical yellow crane into the sky. Xin built a tower to commemorate his experience with the immortal supernatural priest, the Yellow Crane Tower. -Kev
I leave you with the translated words of Chi Hao, Chinese Poet:
The yellow crane has long since gone away,
All that here remains is yellow crane tower.
The yellow crane once gone does not return,
White clouds drift slowly for a thousand years.
The river is clear in Hanyang by the trees,
And fragrant grass grows thick on parrot isle.
In this dusk, I don’t know where my homeland lies,
The river’s mist-covered waters bring me sorrow.