Yellow Crane Tower - History - Literature - Poem By Li Bai

Poem By Li Bai

There are other famous poems about it by Li Bai; one of which, written on the occasion of parting with his friend and poetic colleague Meng Haoran is called "Seeing off Meng Haoran for Guangling at Yellow Crane Tower" (黄鹤楼送孟浩然之广陵). The original poem is shown below:

故人西辞黄鹤楼，
烟花三月下扬州。
孤帆远影碧空尽，
唯见长江天际流

A modern English translation of the poem may follow as such:

My old friends said goodbye to the west, here at Yellow Crane Tower,
In the third month's cloud of willow blossoms, he's going down to Yangzhou.
The lonely sail is a distant shadow, on the edge of a blue emptiness,
All I see is the Yangtze River flow to the far horizon.

Alternative translation: My old friend bids a westerly farewell to Yellow Crane Tower, In the misty blossoms of April as he goes down to Yangzhou. His lone sail is a distant shadow disappearing in the azure void, All I see is a long river flowing to the edge of heaven.