Baidi Cheng or White Emperor City is situated on Baidi Mountain (now an island) at the entrance to Qutang Gorge, one of the famous Three Gorges of the Yangzi River.
The approach to this historic site from nearby Fengjie passes through scenes of pagoda-topped hillsides but he view is sadly marred by factories and workers' housing built in the 1970s. Once ashore however, the complex of temples and halls and great views of Qutang Gorge more than make up for this.
The story goes that the town was chosen as the headquarters of first century (AD) general Gong Sunshu. He spotted its strategic potential and remains of the old city wall can still be seen on the hill behind Baidi Mountain. In AD 25, white vapour in the shape of a dragon was seen rising from a nearby well. Taking this as an auspicious omen, Gong declared himself the "White Emperor" and the town "White Emperor City" and the 12-year reign that followed was known as a time of peace and harmony.
A red wall with an imposing yellow dragon-head gateway surrounds the temple complex. Though originally built in his honor, statues of the White Emperor were removed in the Ming dynasty (l368-l644) and replaced with images of Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, heroes of the Shu Kingdom during the Three Kingdoms period.
The main sights include the attractive Tuogu Tang (Entrusting Son's Hall) which displays statues showing Liu Bei, King of the Shu Kingdom, entrusting his son to his prime minister Zhuge Liang after failing in battle against the Wu Kingdom.
The Mingliang Palace also originally housed statues of Gongsun Shu, once worshipped by the people and later replaced by the same Shu kingdom heroes. A large bronze bell hangs in the upper storeys of the handsome, winged Observing Stars Pavilion (Guanxing Ting), where Zhuge Liang observed the stars and forecast the weather to help him plan his victorious battle tactics
Other relics to note are a stele forest, ancient suspended wooden coffins and painting and calligraphy works by celebrities of different dynasties.
Recommened visit time is approximately 2.5 hours.