Wanzhou, once called Wanxian, is in the municipality of Chongqing.

Located on the northern bank of the Yangtze River in eastern Chongqing, Wanzhou, with a history of 1,900 years, is a keypoint on the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River and a vital land and water communications hub in Chongqing. 


Wanzhou overlooks the Yangtze River and backs on mountains. With the Duyue Mountain in the east, the Cuiping Mountain in the south, the Taibai Rock in the west and the Tiancheng in the southwest, Wanzhou is the largest city between Chongqing and Yichang in the Three Gorges area. 

Wanzhou is traditionally called the 'Gate to the East Sichuan'. The name means 'a county with 10,000 products', and refers to the natural wealth of the area. Li Bai (701-762), a great Tang-dynasty poet, once lived in a temple located on a hill in the westem side, hence the name of 'Taibai Rock' . 

Wanzhou is at about the halfway point between Chongqing and Yichang, and has been an important river port for centuries. Since the construction of Three Gorges Dam, when the water level of the Yangtze River's Wanzhou section reached a height of 175.1 meters in June 2003, the southern half of Wanzhou has been submerged underwater, while a new city center that offers improved infrastructure for immigrants has been founded to the north of the old city center.