Bālíng

Bālíng, the seat of Yuèzhōu, stands where Dòngtíng Lake and the Yangtze meet in northeastern Húnán, and the Xiāng River flows in from the south. Its landmark is Yuèyáng Tower on the western city gate, whose roots go back to the naval review tower of Lǔ Sù; Téng Zǐjīng rebuilt it in 1045–1046, and Fàn Zhòngyān's "Record of Yuèyáng Tower" made it famous across the empire, with poets of every dynasty after him adding their lines.

The Yuán made Yuèzhōu a route in 1276 and the Míng a prefecture in 1369. It was reduced to a department in 1376, when Bālíng County was folded into it, and restored as a prefecture, with Bālíng County revived, in 1381; in 1397 Lǐzhōu across the lake was attached to it, and was split off again in 1729. By the Qīng the Yuèzhōu prefecture belonged to the Yuè-Cháng-Lǐ circuit.