Yueyang in two days: a lake tower, Junshan tea, and the Yangtze's edge

Early on a weekday, the embankment below Yueyang Tower (岳阳楼, Yuèyáng Lóu) belongs to people who are not sightseeing. A man walks backwards along the railing, clapping in time with his steps. Women with red fans practise a routine to a speaker hung from a tree, and a skiff sits out on the water. That water is Dongting Lake (洞庭湖, Dòngtíng Hú), and depending on the month it is either a grey sheet running to the horizon or a plain of grass with one channel cut through it. Yueyang sits on the Beijing–Guangzhou high-speed line, and most travellers see it only as a platform sign between Wuhan and Changsha. Two unhurried days show what they miss.

The tower first, before the groups arrive

Go to Yueyang Tower as soon as it opens. The building is a compact three storeys of dark timber under a curved roof shaped like a general's helmet, which locals call kuīdǐng (盔顶). It is smaller than the Yellow Crane Tower upriver in Wuhan, and it is much older in fabric, since the timber is Qing-dynasty rather than reinforced concrete. The stairs are steep and worn smooth, and on the top floor the lake fills every window.

The tower's fame rests on an essay, Fan Zhongyan's Yueyang Lou Ji (岳阳楼记, Record of Yueyang Tower). The text is carved on wooden panels inside, and Chinese visitors read it aloud under their breath, much as people elsewhere mouth a hymn. The story usually told is that Fan never stood here. He wrote from a painting a friend sent him. One line in it has become a civic motto across China.

Be the first to worry about the world's troubles, and the last to enjoy its pleasures.

In the grounds, look for the Sanzui Pavilion (三醉亭, Sānzuì Tíng), tied to the Daoist immortal Lü Dongbin, who is said to have got drunk here three times without anyone recognising him. A couplet on the site sums up the town's view of itself.

洞庭天下水，岳阳天下楼。

Romanised, it reads Dòngtíng tiānxià shuǐ, Yuèyáng tiānxià lóu: Dongting is the water of all under heaven, and Yueyang is its tower. By mid-morning the tour flags arrive and the top floor turns into a queue, so leave before then.

South along the water to the pagoda

From the tower's south side, walk the lakefront path. Within a short stroll you reach Cishi Pagoda (慈氏塔, Císhì Tǎ), a slim brick pagoda standing almost at the waterline. Around it are ordinary apartment blocks, with laundry hung from balconies and men playing cards on stools. There is no ticket booth, but there is also little interpretation. You read it the way the neighbours do, as part of the furniture.

Inland, Bianhe Street (汴河街, Biànhé Jiē) is the rebuilt heritage strip, with grey-tiled shopfronts, skewer stalls and souvenir tea. The older texture is a block or two away along Dongting South Road (洞庭南路, Dòngtíng Nán Lù), where hardware shops and small tea rooms keep their own hours. Here, and in homes across the Yueyang countryside, ask for jiāngyán dòuzi chá (姜盐豆子茶): green tea brewed with shredded ginger, salt, toasted sesame and soybeans. It tastes closer to a light broth than to tea. Older drinkers tip the cup at the end and tap out the beans to eat them, and the waiter will read an empty cup as a request for more.

An evening of lake fish

Dinner in Yueyang means the lake. The small, nearly transparent yínyú (银鱼, silverfish) appear scrambled with egg or dried and fried with chilli. Whole lake fish, usually bream or carp, are chosen live from tanks near the door, then braised in an iron pot with fermented chilli and a lot of garlic. The fish is priced by weight. Ask the weight and the rate per jin (斤, half a kilogram) before the cook takes it away, because the bill is set at the scale, not on the menu.

Restaurants on the streets back from the tower fill with families from about dusk. Hunan cooking here is hot, but less relentlessly so than in Changsha. Saying bú yào tài là (不要太辣, not too spicy) usually earns a milder pot, though not a mild one.

Junshan Island and the tea that stands up

Give your second morning to Junshan Island (君山岛, Jūnshān Dǎo), a low wooded hill in the lake southwest of the city. It is the home of Junshan Yinzhen (君山银针), a yellow tea made from single downy buds. Brewed in a tall glass, the needles stand on end, then rise and sink slowly, and tea houses on the island serve it that way so you can watch. The name is used loosely in shops on the mainland. Ask whether a tea is yellow tea rather than green, look for whole silver-haired buds, and expect real Junshan Yinzhen to be among the more expensive teas on the shelf.

The island's paths link several legends. The Erfei Tomb (二妃墓, Èrfēi Mù) is said to hold Ehuang and Nüying, the two wives of the sage-king Shun. Their tears, so the story goes, left the brown spots on the island's mottled xiāngfēi zhú (湘妃竹, spotted bamboo). Liu Yi Well (柳毅井, Liǔ Yì Jǐng) recalls a scholar who carried a letter to the Dragon King on behalf of his mistreated daughter. Walking all of it at a gentle pace takes most of a morning.

Where the lake leaves for the Yangtze

In the afternoon, take a taxi north to Chenglingji (城陵矶, Chénglíngjī), where Dongting drains into the Yangtze. The meeting point is called Sanjiangkou (三江口, the mouth of three waters), counting the river upstream, the river downstream and the lake outflow. In the right season you can see a seam where the lake's greener water runs beside the browner Yangtze before they blend. Container cranes from the port fill the background, and long barges move upriver toward Yichang and down toward Wuhan.

This is the working Yangtze, not a postcard. That is the point of coming. If you visit in winter, ask at your hotel about East Dongting Lake (东洞庭湖), where migrating cranes and geese feed on the exposed mudflats. Access to the reserve is controlled, so arrange it in advance rather than turning up.

Getting there, when to go, and what to check

High-speed trains stop at Yueyang East (岳阳东站, Yuèyáng Dōng Zhàn), on the city's eastern edge. Conventional trains use Yueyang Station (岳阳站), which is closer to the centre. From either, a taxi or ride-hail car to the tower area is the practical choice. Check timetables on China Railway's 12306 service. Stay near the tower or Nanhu (南湖, South Lake) so both mornings start on foot.

Spring and autumn are the comfortable seasons. Summer brings high water and heavy humidity. Winter brings low water, birds and grey skies. Admission charges and opening hours for Yueyang Tower and Junshan Island change by season, so confirm them through each scenic area's official channels or the Yueyang tourism bureau before you plan the day around them.

The mistake to avoid is assuming you can reach Junshan by boat from the tower pier. Passenger boats depend on the water level and can stop in the dry months, and the road route goes the long way round. Check how the island is being reached that week the evening before, and you will keep your morning.