Baidicheng, Ancient temple complex in Fengjie County, China

Baidicheng is a temple complex located at the entrance of Qutang Gorge on Baidi Hill in Fengjie County, surrounded by water on three sides and bordered by mountains on the left bank. The site includes several halls, pavilions, and a covered walkway that links the former hilltop to the mainland.

Gongsun Shu built a fortress here at the end of the Western Han, taking the title White Emperor after a well in the city emitted white vapour like a white dragon; the name Baidicheng comes from this. In 223 Liu Bei entrusted his son to Zhuge Liang here. The Southern Song walls, built from 1242 and abandoned in 1278, form a preserved Song-Mongol war mountain city; the Three Gorges Dam later made the hill an island.

The complex houses Mingliang Palace, where life-size figures recreate a scene from the Three Kingdoms period showing Liu Bei entrusting his son to Zhuge Liang shortly before passing away. Visitors also encounter representations of other figures from that era, whose stories continue to appear in Chinese literature and opera.

Visitors reach the complex either by climbing around 1000 steps on foot or by taking a cable car that makes the ascent much easier. At the entrance, allow some time for tickets and possible queues during busy periods.

At the entrance hang two bronze plaques reproducing Li Bai's poem "Setting off Early from Baidicheng" in the handwriting of Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai. The gate plaque reading 白帝城 was written by Guo Moruo, and the flanking couplet comes from Du Fu's "Song of Kui Zhou".