Soon later we will reach the broad valley of Xiangxi. Along the clear and green river of Xiangxi, there once lived two famous Chinese celebrities. One is the great poet, Qu Yuan of the Chu State, and the other is the beauty Wang Zhaojun of the Han Dynasty. It’s said, one day, when Wang Zhaojun was washing her face by the river, she accidentally lost the pearls in her necklace into the Xiangxi River. From then on, the water in this river became clear and fragrant, and got its name “Xiangxi” (the Fragrant River). Like a splendid belt, Xiangxi River makes a shortcut into the Shennongjia virgin forest. After the completion of the Three Gorges dam reservoir, our ship can sail directly from the Yangtze River to Zhaojun’s Village. While in the half way, we can stop at the Leping Li, the birthplace of Qu Yuan.

Leping Li, the hometown of Qu Yuan, is right situated by the riverside of the Xiangxi River. There, we can find many interesting places and legend sites about Qu Yuan, such as the Xianglu Ping, the Zhaomian Well, the Dushu Cave, and the Yumi Sanqiu etc. Qu Yuan was an honest, selflessness poet as well as a politician with foresight and sagacity.  He was much concerned about the nation and the people, and left many famous poems such as “Li Sao”.

The Baoping Village of the Xiangshan County in the upstream of the Xiangxi River is the hometown of Wang Zhaojun, the famous imperial concubine in the ancient Han Dynasty. She married the King of the Hu people in the far western region to exchange long term peace situation. In recent years, her native houses were rebuilt by the local government. At the gate of her house, there stands her white marble statue presented by the Inner Mongolia, with a theme “Wang Zhaojun is living along the thousands years history, just as long peace between the Hu and Han peoples”.