Leizu Cultural Park

Leizu Cultural Park

Leizu Cultural Park is a national AAA-level tourist attraction.

Leizu Town is located in the northwest of Yuan’an County, Yichang City, covering an area of 396 square kilometers with a total population of 30,000. It has abundant mineral resources, profound cultural heritage, and convenient, well-connected transportation. Leizu Town is a National Folk Culture and Arts Town, one of China’s Most Nostalgic Rural Tourism Villages, a Provincial Famous Tourism Town, a Provincial Characteristic Town, a Civilized Town, and a pilot town for integrated urban-rural development in Yichang City. It is also home to Asia’s largest single phosphate mine and the location of Hubei Dongsheng Chemical Group, a Top 500 Chinese private enterprise in the chemical industry.

In recent years, Leizu Town has taken full advantage of the momentum of all-for-one tourism. Based on local characteristics, it has scientifically planned and constructed scenic areas, creating distinctive rural tourism routes such as worshipping Leizu in Goujiaya, recalling nostalgia in Jinqiao, exploring canyons in Xihé, admiring crape myrtle in Guangping, enjoying landscapes in Wangjia, exploring caves in Fenshui, and viewing flower seas in Tianjia. The town has also leveraged events like the Leizu Temple Fair, Crape Myrtle Festival, and summer parent-child tours to boost visibility, resulting in widespread tourism development. It has been honored as a Provincial Outstanding Contributor to Tourism Industry Development and among the Second Batch of Provincial Famous Tourism Towns, with Jinqiao Village named a National Beautiful and Livable Village.

We are now at Leizu Cultural Park, built to commemorate Leizu, the principal wife of the Yellow Emperor, the originator of sericulture and silk reeling for humanity, and the great mother of the Chinese nation. Covering 260 acres with an investment of 40 million yuan, the park was co-designed by Huazhong University of Science and Technology and Beijing Green Cross, and jointly constructed by the government and Yuanda Company. The park includes a Tourism Information Consultation Center, Leizu Museum, Leizu Square, and Leizu Worship Area, with the entire project set to be completed by April this year.

The Tourism Information Consultation Center is located at the main entrance of Leizu Cultural Park. Built according to national unified standards, it covers a floor area of 500 square meters with complete facilities and functions. It serves as a hub for tourist reception, travel consultation, resting areas, convenience services, tourism souvenir exhibitions, and standardized public toilets. The center is equipped with self-service information kiosks, manual consultation desks, public telephone systems, mobile phone charging stations, a specialty section for root carvings and unusual stones, as well as video equipment. Facilities for special groups include baby changing tables, children’s seats, call buttons, and barrier-free restrooms. It has been built as a high-standard, high-starting-point, one-stop, intelligent, convenient, and comfortable tourism information center.

The paving in Leizu Cultural Park uses local bluestone and flagstone slabs to reflect an ecological, rustic concept and strong local cultural elements. The greenery is dominated by mulberry trees, supplemented by native species like crape myrtle, camphor trees, and maple trees, highlighting the long history of mulberry cultivation and silk production.

The Leizu statue stands 12 meters tall with a base 15 meters long and weighs 458 tons, carved from white marble. Leizu faces east while seated, holding silk threads, exuding grace and dignity, portraying her as a noble matriarch and compassionate leader. The front of the base is inscribed with the “Leizu Ode,” written by Dr. Li Jingyi, a doctoral supervisor at Wuhan University and renowned author who composed “Ode to Hong Kong” for the handover of Hong Kong, and calligraphed by Zhou Decong, Vice Chairman of the Provincial Calligraphers Association, Chairman of the Municipal Calligraphers Association, and former Dean of the Art College at China Three Gorges University.