Youli City, Anyang – Ticket, Opening Hours, Location, and Highlights

Located in Anyang, Youli City (羑里城), also known as the Temple of King Wen (文王庙), is the earliest known national prison in Chinese history and the birthplace of Zhou Yi culture. Its history can be traced back to the Shang and Zhou dynasties when it served as the place where King Zhou of Shang imprisoned King Wen of Zhou, Ji Chang. King Wen was imprisoned here for seven years, during which he utilized his time to deduce the Eight Trigrams of Fu Xi into the Sixty-Four Hexagrams, composing the Book of Changes (Zhou Yi), leaving behind a valuable cultural legacy for future generations.

The cultural layers of the Youli City site are as thick as seven meters, containing rich remains of the Longshan culture and the Shang and Zhou cultures. These remnants not only reveal the production and living conditions of ancient society but also provide precious material evidence for understanding ancient politics, economics, culture, and more.

The Youli City scenic area is divided into two parts: the front and back areas. The front area includes buildings and scenic spots such as the place where King Wen of Zhou interpreted the changes, the main hall, the Cleansing Heart Pavilion, the Play and Occupy Pavilion, the Imperial Stele Pavilion, the Changes Stele Pavilion, and the Interpretation Platform. Among these, the Temple of King Wen is one of the most important buildings in Youli City, situated on the site of the ancient city. Facing south, the existing building was reconstructed in the 21st year of the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty (1542). Inside the main hall, there is a bronze statue of King Wen of Zhou, with a majestic appearance and a solemn expression, evoking deep respect. Additionally, the scenic area contains numerous stone inscriptions, recording the praises and reverence of emperors, officials, and literati for King Wen throughout the ages. The back area includes buildings and attractions such as the Temple of Fuxi, the Tu’er Tomb, the Taigong Temple, the Laozi Temple, and the Confucius Temple.

One of the highlights of the scenic area is the Eight Trigrams Maze, constructed according to the layout of the Eight Trigrams, with formations including the Array of Heroes, the Linked Rings Array, the Deception Array, the General’s Array, and so on. It is said to be a battlefield formation diagram arranged by Zhuge Liang during the Three Kingdoms period based on the positions of the Nine Palaces and the principles of the Five Elements. Visitors can enter the maze and explore the mysterious Eight Trigrams formation. If they find themselves unable to navigate through, there are specially designed exits for them to crawl out.

Basic Information

Location and Transportation

Youli, an ancient place name also known as Youdu, is located at the site of Youli City, approximately 4.5 kilometers north of Tangyin County in Anyang City, Henan Province, China. To get there, you can take bus Tangyin 1 or Antang Tourist Line and get off at You City Stop (羑里城站).