2-Day Wuhan: the Yellow Crane Tower and the Bells of Marquis Yi

Wuhan is three cities on two banks of the Yangtze, and this two-day programme covers the two things the city is actually known for. The first is the tower. The Yellow Crane Tower has been built and destroyed and rebuilt on Snake Hill since the third century, and the building standing now is a 1985 reconstruction in reinforced concrete following the Qing form, moved about a kilometre from its old site when the first Yangtze bridge took the ground. What has never moved is the poetry: Cui Hao in the eighth century, and Li Bai, who came here, read him, and declined to write.

The second is under glass beside East Lake. In 1978 archaeologists opened the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng at Leigudun and found 65 bronze bells hung on a wooden rack, each of them cast to sound two notes, with the pitch names inscribed on the metal. They were playable when they came out of the ground and they have been recorded. Around them is the rest of the grave and the material culture of Chu, the southern state that held the middle Yangtze for eight centuries and made an art unlike anything coming out of the north at the same time. This is a long weekend, or the front half of a longer Hubei trip, and it bolts onto Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an or Chengdu by high-speed train.

• The Yellow Crane Tower: a 1985 reconstruction in Qing form, and the Yangtze a kilometre and a half wide below it
• The chime bells of Marquis Yi of Zeng, 65 bronzes tuned to two notes each, buried around 433 BC
• The Sword of Goujian and the bronze and lacquer of the Chu state
• East Lake: 33 square kilometres, the largest urban lake in China
• Hubu Alley and a first bowl of hot dry noodles

• Accommodation for 1 night at a 4-star or equivalent hotel, twin share, with daily breakfast
• Meals as listed in the daily itinerary (daily breakfast, plus the lunches and dinners listed in the daily programme; on cruise days all meals are taken on board and are included in the cabin)
• Private air-conditioned vehicle with professional driver throughout
• English-speaking local guide (Spanish, French, German, Italian, Russian or Japanese on request)
• All entrance fees for the sites listed, including shuttle buses, eco-buses and cable cars where the site requires them
• Local handling and coordination service throughout the programme
• Bottled water (2 bottles per person per day) and audio headsets where group size requires them
• Travel accident insurance for the duration of the tour

• International air tickets and any domestic flights not listed in the itinerary
• China visa or visa-free entry documentation fees
• Meals not specified in the daily itinerary and all beverages/alcohol
• Tips for guides, drivers and hotel staff (suggested USD 8-12 per person per day)
• Personal expenses: laundry, telephone, minibar, shopping
• Optional activities and any item not listed under Price Includes
• Single-room supplement if a traveller requires a room alone
• The night-time Yellow Crane Tower show, if taken (paid on site)
• The VR experience at the Hubei Provincial Museum, if taken (paid on site)
• The Zhiyinhao floating theatre, if added

Published: October 2026 — prices and itinerary reviewed on this date; later updates are shown in the revision note below.

Please read the notes below before you book. Hubei is a province of water and of altitude, and both shape the day. The Yangtze is a kilometre and a half wide at Wuhan and the humidity in July and August is serious: summer in Wuhan is hotter than almost anywhere else in China at this latitude, and the guides carry water and re-order the day around it. Wudangshan sits at up to 1,612 metres and Shennongjia above 3,000, so nights are cold even in summer. The practical rules that matter: the Three Gorges Dam site, the Hubei Provincial Museum, the Jingzhou Museum and Wuhan University all require advance reservation with passport details, the Wudangshan scenic area runs timed entry and does not admit private vehicles, Enshi’s canyons involve eight kilometres of cliff walking, and the mountain roads of western Hubei are not roads we let clients drive themselves. Our guides hold the bookings and change the order of the day when the weather or the crowds argue for it.

Q: Do I need a visa for a trip to Hubei?
A: Most visitors do not. China’s unilateral visa-free scheme currently covers 50 countries for stays of up to 30 days, and 240-hour visa-free transit is available to travellers from 57 countries entering through 65 designated ports, which include Wuhan Tianhe airport and the ports of Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu. Hubei itself adds no local permit requirement. Rules change, so check your nationality against the National Immigration Administration list before you book flights.

Q: How much time does the Yellow Crane Tower need?
A: Two hours, and that includes the climb. The tower itself takes twenty minutes; the park around it has the stelae, the bronze crane and the old foundation of the 1868 tower, and the terrace on the river side is where the view is. Go in the morning: the light is on the water and the queue for the lift is shorter before eleven.

Q: Is the Hubei Provincial Museum really free?
A: Yes, and that is why it is difficult. Entry is free but by timed reservation, released a few days in advance, and the chime-bell hall fills. We book your slot as soon as your passport details reach us, and we aim at the first slot of the day. The VR experience is a separate paid add-on and is not required.

Q: Where should we stay - Wuchang or Hankou?
A: Wuchang for this itinerary. The tower, the museum and East Lake are all on the south bank, and staying there saves you two bridge crossings a day. Hankou is the better base if you care about restaurants and the old concessions, and we can put you there instead if you would rather; the crossing is about thirty minutes.

Q: Is two days enough for Wuhan?
A: For the two headline sites, yes. For the city, no - three days lets us add the Hankou concessions and the 1911 Revolution museum, which are half of what makes Wuhan more than a transit point. If you have the third day, take it: the extra cost is one night and it changes the character of the trip.

Q: What does Wuhan actually eat?
A: Breakfast, mostly. Hot dry noodles - re gan mian, sesame paste on parboiled noodles - are the city’s signature, and sanxian doupi, a fried square of rice, egg, mushroom and pork, is the second. The rest of the table is river: steamed Wuchang fish, lotus-root soup with pork rib, and in summer, crayfish in oil and chilli. Hubei cooking is milder than Hunan’s and less numbing than Sichuan’s.

Q: Can we fit this around a train connection?
A: Usually yes. Wuhan has three stations - Wuhan, Wuchang and Hankou - and all are on the metro. Beijing West is about four and a half hours away, Shanghai Hongqiao four to five, Guangzhou South about four, and Xi’an about four and a half. Tell us your train times and we will build the two days around them, including a departure-day morning if the train is in the afternoon.