Famous Towers of China

• The four great towers of China are:

Yueyang Tower, Yueyang, Hunan: the west gate tower of Yueyang on the Baling hill, 39 m above sea level, looking over Dongting Lake towards Junshan island, “the finest water under heaven is Dongting, the finest tower Yueyang”.

Yellow Crane Tower, Wuhan, Hubei: on the Huanghu rock in Wuchang, south bank of the Yangtze.

Tengwang Pavilion, Nanchang, Jiangxi: on the Gan River in Nanchang, built by Li Yuanying, brother of Emperor Taizong of Tang, when he governed Hongzhou; as he held the title Prince of Teng, the pavilion took his name.

Penglai Pavilion, Penglai, Shandong: on the cliff of Danya hill facing the Bohai Sea, halls rising into the clouds, the “fairyland”.

The three great towers south of the Yangtze are the Yueyang Tower, the Yellow Crane Tower and the Tengwang Pavilion.

On 30 October 1987 China Post issued T121 “Famous Towers of China”, four stamps: the Yellow Crane Tower, Yueyang Tower, Tengwang Pavilion and Penglai Pavilion, with a souvenir sheet the same day.