The First Bend of the Yangtze River is located at Shigu(Stone Drum)Town in Lijiang County and about 70 kilome- ters from the county seat.The Jinsha River runs southward here,then northward because of the change of the mountain ranges, and forms a"V"shape.The Jinsha River is the upper reach of the Yangtze River,so this bend is called"the First Bend of the Yangtze River".
Around here the Jinsha River is comparatively wide,and the current is much slower. So it is the best place for people to ferry the river. Since the ancient times, it has been a place contested by all strategists. The legend says that it is here that during the"Period of the Three Kingdoms"(a pe- riod in the history of China),Zhuge Liang(Prime Minister of one of the three kingdoms, and a very clever strategist) led his troops to cross the Lu River (one of the names of the Jinsha River in ancient China)in May and it is here that Ku- blai Khan,the fifth emperor of the Yuan Dynasty,crossed the Jinsha River with his army placed in the west when he was fighting his way southward.It is also here that in April 1936 the Second Front Army of the Chinese Red Army led by He Long crossed the river and then went on northward to fight a- gainst the Japanese invaders.In 1977 the Monument of the Red Army Crossing the River was built and in 1980 the Long March Museum was built.
Shigu (Stone Drum) Town was a famous town in the past and is still at present. There is a stone drum-shaped monument of white marble, hence the name.
The stone monument was set up by Zhuge Liang after he led his troops to cross the Lu River in May and seized Nanzhong (the area around Lijiang). When it was first set up, there was nothing inscribed on it. During the reign of Jiajin in the Ming Dynasty, the Magistrate of Lijiang Prefec- ture led his troops and fought back the troops from the Tibetan Regime, some poems and verses were inscribed on it in mem- ory of his heroic deeds. It was said that there was a crack in the stone drum. When the society was in a mess,the crack widened; when the society was in peace, it closed. The leg- end shows that the Naxi people hope that the peaceful society and happy life will always exist in this area.
Since ancient times, Shigu (Stone Drum) Town has al- ways been the most important town connecting the Tibetan are- a to the inland. The Tibetan people bring their furs, hides, leathers and medicinal herbs to sell here,and then boy some tea, salt, cloth and other articles for daily use, and take them back. When a market day comes, it is crowded and noisy here.