Four Great Towers of China

The Four Great Towers of China(Chinese: 中国四大名楼) are four historically renowned towers in China. The list usually includes the following:

• Yellow Crane Tower (黄鹤楼), Wuhan, Hubei province - (30°32′49″N 114°17′49″E / 30.54694°N 114.29694°E / 30.54694; 114.29694)
• Pavilion of Prince Teng (滕王阁), Nanchang, Jiangxi Province - (28°41′2.76″N 115°52′32.88″E / 28.6841000°N 115.8758000°E / 28.6841000; 115.8758000)
• Yueyang Tower (岳阳楼), Yueyang, Hunan Province - (29°23′05″N 113°05′18″E / 29.384723°N 113.088262°E / 29.384723; 113.088262)
• Penglai Pagoda (蓬莱阁), Yantai, Shandong Province - 37°49′34″N 120°44′59″E / 37.82613°N 120.74966°E / 37.82613; 120.74966)

The first three towers are not disputable. However, Penglai Pagoda is often excluded in favour of Stork Tower (鹳雀楼), situated in Shanxi. This is in order to have a list where all four towers are linked to famous pieces of literature, as follows:

• Yellow Crane Tower: Yellow Crane Tower by Cui Hao
• Pavilion of Prince Teng: Tengwang Ge Xu (Preface to a Poem on the Pavilion of Prince Teng), by Wang Bo
• Yueyang Tower: Memorial to Yueyang Tower, by Fan Zhongyan
• Stork Tower: Ascending Guanque Tower, by Wang Zhihuan

Also, Yuewang Tower (Tower of Prince Yue, 越王楼), situated in Mianyang, Sichuan Province, is also considered to be one of the Four Great Towers.^[1] Yuewang Tower is linked with more than 100 pieces of literature, and the most famous one is:

• Yuewang Tower: Ascending Tower by Li Bai

The Three Great Towers of Jiangnan (江南三大樓) excludes both Penglai Pagoda and Stork Tower, which are in northern China, and only includes:^[2]

• Yellow Crane Tower (Hubei, on the southern bank of the Yangtze River)
• Pavilion of Prince Teng (Jiangxi)
• Yueyang Tower (Hunan)