Historic city · Cultural centre · Hubei
Jingzhou
荆州
Walled city on the Yangtze beside the ancient Chu capital
Jingzhou is a prefecture-level city on the north bank of the Yangtze in south-central Hubei. It lies beside Ying, capital of the state of Chu for four centuries, keeps one of the best-preserved city walls in southern China, and was the prize most fought over in the Three Kingdoms period.
Key facts
Overview
Jingzhou commands the point where the Yangtze leaves the hills and enters the Jianghan Plain. For the Chu kings this was the heart of their state; in the Three Kingdoms it was the strategic key to the middle Yangtze, contested by Wei, Shu and Wu. The saying 大意失荆州 — “to lose Jingzhou through carelessness”, after Guan Yu's loss of the city to Wu in 219 — is still used for any avoidable failure.
The modern city grew around the walled town of Jiangling and the river port of Shashi, which were merged in 1994. The surrounding plain is farmland and lake country, including Honghu Lake.
Names and nicknames
江陵
The historic name of the walled city, used for most of the imperial period and kept by one of its counties.
郢都
The Chu capital Ying, whose earthen walls at Jinancheng lie a few kilometres north of the city.
History
Chu kings ruled from Ying, at Jinancheng, from around 689 BCE until the city fell to Qin in 278 BCE; hundreds of Chu tombs in the area have yielded lacquer, silk, bronzes and bamboo-slip texts. Jiangling remained a regional capital through the Han, Three Kingdoms and Southern dynasties and was briefly the capital of the Liang in the sixth century. The present walls date largely from the late Ming and early Qing. Shashi was opened to foreign trade in 1896.
c. 689–278 BCE
Ying, capital of Chu
The walled capital at Jinancheng was one of the largest cities of the Eastern Zhou period.
219
Guan Yu loses Jingzhou
While Guan Yu campaigned in the north, Wu forces under Lü Meng took Jiangling; Guan Yu was captured and executed soon after.
552–554
Capital of the Liang
Emperor Yuan of Liang ruled from Jiangling until the city fell to Western Wei, when he burnt a vast imperial book collection.
1646
City walls rebuilt
The brick walls, rebuilt in the early Qing on Ming foundations, survive almost complete with their gates and moat.
1975
Western Han body found at Fenghuangshan
The well-preserved body of a man buried in 167 BCE was excavated from tomb 168 and is shown in the Jingzhou Museum.
Landmarks
Historic site
Jingzhou city walls
荆州古城墙
About eleven kilometres of brick walls with six gates and a surrounding moat, walkable on top for much of their length.
Museum
Jingzhou Museum
荆州博物馆
Strong on Chu silk, lacquer and bamboo slips, and home of the Han-dynasty body from Fenghuangshan.
Historic site
Jinancheng
纪南城遗址
Earth ramparts of the Chu capital Ying in the countryside north of the city.
Historic site
Xiongjiazhong Chu tombs
熊家冢
A royal Chu cemetery with excavated chariot and horse pits.
Neighbourhoods
Old walled city
荆州古城
The area inside the walls, with the museum and the Guan Yu temple.
Shashi
沙市
The former river port to the east, the commercial centre of the modern city.
Food
Fish cake
荆州鱼糕
Steamed cakes of minced fish, a banquet dish of the region.
Gong'an guokui
公安锅盔
Flatbread stuffed with meat or sugar and baked against the wall of a clay oven.
Zaozheng
早蒸
Steamed dishes of meat or fish in rice flour, eaten for breakfast.
Culture
Jingzhou sees itself as the capital of Chu culture, and its museum holds some of the most important Chu finds. Three Kingdoms stories, above all those of Guan Yu, are woven into local sites and sayings. The flat, lake-studded countryside is part of the fish-and-lotus culture of the Jianghan Plain.
朝辞白帝彩云间，千里江陵一日还。Zhāo cí Báidì cǎi yún jiān, qiān lǐ Jiānglíng yī rì huán.
“At dawn I left Baidi among the coloured clouds; a thousand li to Jiangling, back in a single day.”
— Li Bai, “Leaving Baidi Early” (早发白帝城), 759
Getting around
- Jingzhou station lies on the high-speed line along the Yangtze between Wuhan and Yichang.
- Jingzhou Shashi Airport serves domestic routes.
- The walled city is compact; bicycles are a common way to follow the walls.
Day trips
Honghu Lake
洪湖
Large lake in the south-east of the prefecture, known for lotus and wetland birds.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Jingzhou Municipal People's Government — Jingzhou Municipal People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Seventh National Population Census communiqués — National Bureau of Statistics of China (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Jingzhou — Encyclopaedia Britannica (retrieved 27 September 2026)
More cities in Hubei
- Wuhan武汉Capital · Historic city · Industrial centreThree river towns at the meeting of the Yangtze and the Han
- Yichang宜昌Historic city · Industrial centre · Scenic areaGateway to the Three Gorges and site of the great dam
- Xiangyang襄阳Historic city · Industrial centreMoated fortress city on the Han River
- Shiyan十堰Industrial centre · Scenic area · Cultural centreCar city below the Daoist Wudang Mountains
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