Yunyang Zhang Fei Temple was constructed in honor of the renowned Three Kingdoms general Zhang Fei and boasts a history of more than 1,700 years. It is currently a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit, a National AAAA-level Tourist Attraction, a Famous Scenic Area of China, and a Renowned Scenic Spot of the Yangtze River Three Gorges. Legend has it that Zhang Fei was assassinated by his subordinates in Langzhong, Sichuan. The two conspirators took his head and fled to the Eastern Wu. When they reached Yunyang and heard that Wu and Shu had reconciled, they panicked and threw Zhang Fei’s head into the river before escaping. That night, Zhang Fei appeared in a dream to a fisherman, asking that his head be buried within the territory of Shu. The fisherman, having taken the request to heart, recovered Zhang Fei’s head while fishing in the river and buried it on Feifeng Mountain in Yunyang. Hence, the peculiar legend that “Zhang Fei’s head is buried in Yunyang, but his body in Langzhong.”
Nestled against the mountain and beside the water, the temple rises in terraces, with the ancient shrine, green hills, and river waters forming a breathtaking three-dimensional landscape painting. The temple also houses a profound ancient cultural heritage, with hundreds of preserved calligraphy works, stone inscriptions, couplets, plaques, and cliff inscriptions. It is truly deserving of the title “The Golden Stone Treasures of Zhang Clan, Unrivaled in Eastern Shu.” As such, Zhang Fei Temple has long been celebrated as a “Haven of Literary Heritage and a Scenic Wonder of Bashu.”
As the only state-protected cultural relic in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area to undergo a complete relocation at a distance, the temple was moved 30 kilometers upstream along the river. The relocated Zhang Fei Temple faces the new urban area of Yunyang across the river, creating a picturesque harmony. The funding and scale of the temple’s relocation rank it as the largest “migrant” project in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area.
Revered for his righteousness and bravery throughout history, Zhang Fei is honored by people from ancient times to the present. Every year on his birthday (the 28th day of the eighth lunar month), Yunyang Zhang Fei Temple holds a grand temple fair, attracting numerous worshippers and enjoying significant scale and influence.