what to eat

Three Gorges Pearl Soup
The dish was inspired by the beautiful scenery of the Xiling Gorge which makes up of high mountains and deep gorges, and was prepared to looks like the landscapes in appearance. The dish is made with chicken, egg white and fish balls. The egg white is made resembling the mountains and float on the chicken soup. Among these “mountains” are the tricolor fish balls, which represent "pearls". The dish looks beautiful and tastes tender, and is well-known in the region for its distinctive appearance.

Cold Shrimp
The Cold Shrimp, however, is not really shrimp at all. It is actually made of rice milk and red sugar. It is so named because it resembles shrimp in shape. Eating Cold Shrimp is believed to keep you cool in summer, therefore, the snack is considered to be the best summer snack in Yichang.

what to buy

Chestnut
It is one of Yichang's traditional specialities and famous for its big,delicious and rich nutritious. Its reddish pulp contains many nutrishing materials such as protein, fat, sugar, starch, high quality edible fiber and so on. Research shows that it has the function of improving blood circulation, building up constitution and prolonging life. The chestnut is well-known as "the King of Preserved Fruit".

Persimmon
It can be divided into two major types:edible persimmon and oil-persimmon. The edible persimmon contains many essential microelements such as protein,fat,carbohydrate,calcium , phosphorus, iron and various vitamines. Cow-heart in shape, sweet and juicy, it has rich nutrition and medical value and can be made into persimmon cakes, persimmon sugar and many other products and also, it can be used as medicine.Oil-persimmon is an important raw material for chemical industry. The oil-persimmon series of produts are exported to Japan, Hongkong and many other countries and districts.

Black Muer (Fungus)
It has a function of moisturizing the lung and cleaning intestines and stomach, and has a special effect to help digest fiber－enriched food. Black fungus has also the effect to replenish qi and strengthen the body, to stop bleeding, relieve pain, enrich the blood and promote blood circulation. It is commonly used in Chinese traditional medicine to cure cold and damp type lumbago and leg ache, cramp and numb in hand and foot, hemorrhoids bleeding, dysentery, uterine bleeding and asthenia after childbearing and other diseases.

what to see in the evening

The unique Changyang dancing show, adapted from the local funeral dances, is always enjoyed by visitors. It combines entertainment and body-building and has gained a high reputation throughout the country. Now, visitors can enjoy these traditional performances in selected tourist locations. A witchcraft show is put on in Sanxia Ancient Military Camp, while the Baren dancing show and Tujia trappings show can be seen in Sun and Moon Village.

weather

Yichang is in a sub-tropical monsoon zone with four distinct seasons. It enjoys abundant sunshine and rainfall, and the average annual temperature is around 15C (59F). June and July are the hottest months as well as the plum rain seasons-a period of unsettled weather with frequent, soaking rains and the temperature is about 25C (95F) on average.

It is not wise to visit in summer; because the plum rain at this season brings great trouble for transportation. The winter is fairly cold, which is not suitable for travel either. The best seasons for visiting are spring and autumn, when the weather in Yichang is favorable and pleasant.

Yichang's warm, moist climate makes it an ideal area for growing oranges which are harvested in August. The Chinese traditional dragon-boat festival is the fifteenth day of the fifth month according to the Chinese lunar calendar. This festival is more ceremonious here as it is in memory of a great people of this city-Qu Yuan.