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Located at the northern bank of the upper reaches of Yangtze River, Wanxian City has a history of over 1,500 years. The city is named Wanxian because tens of thousands of merchants gathered here to conduct business in the distant past. Wan means Ten Thousand and Xian means County.

As Wanxian is in the east of Sichuan Province, it is regarded as the Gateway to Eastern Sichuan. For years, it has been the main material distribution center and manufacture base of eastern Sichuan and western Hubei Provinces. The port in Wanxian is one of the ten largest ports along the Yangtze River and the second largest one in Chongqing.

In 1902, Wanxian was opened up as a "treaty port" (where special rules encouraged trade) and in 1915, Britain and Japan both set up customs establishments here. In 1925, it became the second official port where one can export goods after applying to the customs establishment directly in Sichuan. This made the city develop quickly and become one of the three largest cities of Sichuan at the time. (The other two are Chengdu and Chongqing).

The scenery in Wanxian is marvelous. The Bell Tower built in 1930 in Xishan Park (West Hill Park) in the Chinese traditional architecture style is worth your visit. Through the years, numerous celebrities like Li Bai, Du Fu and Bai Juyi (great poets in Chinese history) have been to Wanxian to admire its beautiful scenery. There are also some historic relics like Shibaozhai in Zhongxian and Zhang Fei Temple in Yunyang, Baidi City in Feng Jie not far from Wanxian.

Wanxian is also renowned for its silk production. The largest Silk Museum in Southwest China is located here. By visiting the museum, you can admire the process of spinning and silk weaving. If you like, you can buy one of the pieces of silk clothing for yourself or as a present for your family.

Because of the Three Gorges Project, the ancient city of Wanzhou has been torn down. New Wanxian City has been built. Now, standing on the newly built Wanan Bridge to view the old city, you can see the lower part in ruins.

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