Yellow Crane Tower

Why it's worth it

The tower a Tang poet made immortal — Cui Hao's verse about a departed crane and a misty river, which Li Bai reportedly refused to compete with. The current five-floor rebuild (1985) stands 51 metres up Snake Hill, overlooking the Yangtze and the 1957 bridge that was China's first across it.

Don't miss

• The fifth-floor view: river, bridge, and the two cities of Wuhan meeting across the water
• The poem inscriptions — Cui Hao's and Li Bai's mock-resignation reply
• The evening light-up, when the tower's eaves glow over the hillside

Getting there

Metro Line 5 to Simenkou (Yellow Crane Tower) station; the west gate entrance is a short walk uphill.

Tips

• The tower has an elevator (small extra fee) — the stairs are a sauna in summer
• Wuhan Yangtze Bridge walk afterwards: pedestrian deck, river wind, freight trains below your feet
• The 'crane returns' animatronic show inside is charmingly retro; kids rate it highly