Miluo River and Qu Yuan Memorial

The Miluo River enters Dongting Lake about 50 kilometres east of Yueyang city, a modest river made famous by a single event in 278 BC: the drowning of the poet and statesman Qu Yuan, whose death is commemorated annually in the Dragon Boat Festival. The Qu Yuan Memorial Hall in Miluo city presents the poet's biography and legacy, and each June the Miluo section of river hosts an international dragon boat race that draws teams from across China and several other countries.

The memorial hall and river park make a worthwhile excursion from Yueyang, particularly in June when the race preparations and the festival atmosphere along the riverbank are the main event. The landscape here is lowland lakeside terrain — flat, green, threaded by waterways — that provides a complete contrast to the upland scenery of western Hunan. Buses from Yueyang to Miluo city take about an hour.

things to do sight
A story
Qu Yuan drowned in the Miluo River in 278 BC after being exiled from the Chu court and witnessing the fall of the Chu capital to Qin forces. The races that became the Dragon Boat Festival were, according to legend, the attempt by fishermen to recover his body — they drummed and splashed to keep fish away. The historical date is fixed by the Chinese calendar's fifth lunar month, fifth day; the festival is now a national holiday throughout China and has spread to Chinese communities worldwide.