Youli City, located approximately 4 kilometers north of Tangyin County in Anyang City, boasts a 7-meter-thick cultural heritage of the Longshan and Shang-Zhou periods. It is the place where King Zhou of the Yin dynasty imprisoned King Wen of Zhou, Ji Chang, for 7 years 3000 years ago. It is the first national prison recorded in Chinese history and is also the sacred place where ‘King Wen was imprisoned and composed the I Ching’. King Wen of Zhou, based on Fuxi’s eight trigrams, deduced 64 hexagrams and 384 lines here. To commemorate King Wen of Zhou, a temple was built on the site of Youli City. During his long imprisonment, Ji Chang composed the Book of Changes, which was later listed as the first of the Five Classics.
The existing ruins of Youli City include the Yanyi Pavilion, the mountain gate, King Wen of Zhou’s Yanyi Terrace, and the ancient temple base, as well as more than ten steles such as ‘King Wen of Zhou in Youli City’, ‘Yu Stele’, and ‘King Wen’s I Ching’. Among them, the Yanyi Pavilion is a bluestone archway located at the southern end of the city platform, inscribed with the three regular script characters ‘Yanyi Pavilion’.
Inside the scenic area, the Bagua Array Maze is built entirely according to the Bagua Array diagram, with eight formations including the Heroes Formation, Chain Formation, Decoy Formation, General Formation, Sleeping Dragon Formation, Long Snake Formation, Disorientation Formation, and Ambush on All Sides Formation. It is said to be the combat formation arranged by Zhuge Liang during the Three Kingdoms period according to the nine palaces and the principles of the Five Elements. Visitors can enter the formation to explore the mysterious Bagua Array. If you really can’t get out, there are special small holes to crawl out.
There are many fortune-telling old men around the scenic area, which has become a profession here, with each person sitting in a small room. The opening hours are from 08:10 to 18:00 all year round; from 08:10 to 17:30 for preferential policies. Children: under 1.4 meters (not including), preferential; Elderly: people over 60 years old (including) with ID card, free; Disabled: with valid ID, free; Military/Veterans: active military with active duty certificate, free; veterans with preferential certificate, free; People’s Police/National Fire and Rescue Personnel: with valid ID, free; Teachers: with valid ID, half price; Students: with valid ID, half price.
Additional notes: The above information is for reference only. Please refer to the disclosures of Youli City scenic area on the day of your visit.
