Historical Changes

A gateway to the Upper Yangtze River, Yichang has been known as the throat bween Sichuan and Hubei Province.It has a history of more than 2000 years.

In the Spring-Autumn and Warring State Periods, Yichang belonged to the State of Chu and was called Yiling at that time. It was the seat of the county and prefecture in the past dynasties. The strategic position of Yichang was important and all troops tried to occupy it .So many historic events took place here. In the Warring States Period,Bai Qi, the soldiers of the State of Qin,burnt the city of Yiling.During the Three Kingdoms Period, the troops led by Cao Cao and the troops led by Liu Bei fought a fierce battle at Changbanpo and the State of Wu fought against the State of Shu in Yiling.During the War of Resistance against the Japanese Imperialists,here took place the famous Yichang Battle.

Yichang underwent a historic transformation on June 11, 1949 when it was liberated by the People's Liberation Army of the Communist Party of China from the Guomindang's retroactive ruling.During the past few decades,Yichang has developed into a medium-sized city with a population of more than 100 thousand.Today,since the global super project－the Yangtze Three Gorges Project, is being built here,Yichang has become the focus of the world.In 2009,when the TGP is completed successfully,Yichang City will be turned into an international modernized large city so as to match the TGP.When the Three Gorges International Airport and Yunchi Deep-water Port are built and put into use,Yichang will be the main port of external economic contact in west Hubei and east Chongqing.