Wender·Vista
Xiangyang
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tilePeople's Republic of China
on the Han River in northwestern Hubei, halfway between the Qinling mountains and the Yangtze

Xiangyang

— a wall the river holds like an old promise.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A city built around water. The Ming-era wall still rings the old town on the south bank of the Han, with the widest defensive moat in China, almost 250 metres across at points, separating the wall from the modern blocks beyond. Across the river, Fancheng has been Xiangyang's twin for two thousand years. Zhuge Liang's thatched cottage at Longzhong sits in the hills southwest, kept as a quiet garden.

from the studio
Xiangyang
— bring it home

Xiangyang, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Xiangyang

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Xiangyang is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hubei Province, on the middle reaches of the Han River about 320 kilometres northwest of Wuhan. The historic walled town stands on the south bank; its twin, Fancheng, faces it across the river. The Ming-dynasty wall, restored and roughly six kilometres around, runs behind a moat between 180 and 250 metres wide, one of the most intact urban defensive systems in China. The prefecture's population is around 5.6 million.

— informed by Wikipedia, Britannica
— the stone

The wall the visitor sees today was rebuilt in the Ming dynasty between 1369 and 1374, atop foundations laid in the Han. Four gates survive (Linhan to the north, Xianyang to the south, Yangchun to the east, and Xichang to the west), each capped with a restored two-tier tower. The moat, widened during the Northern Song, forced the Mongol siege of 1267 to last six years, the longest sustained Yuan-Song engagement before Xiangyang's fall in 1273 broke the Southern Song defence.

— the year

Zhuge Liang, the strategist of the Three Kingdoms period, lived for ten years at Longzhong in the hills 13 kilometres west of the city. His thatched cottage was rebuilt as a memorial in the Jin dynasty and has been a pilgrimage garden since. Mi Fu, the Northern Song calligrapher, was born here in 1051; his memorial hall stands beside the old Mi Family Temple in Fancheng. The April Three Kingdoms Cultural Festival fills the old town each spring.

— informed by Wikipedia: Zhuge Liang
— where
People's Republic of China · Hubei
— elevation
68 m · 223 ft
— position
32.0090° N · 112.1226° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
13 km W
Longzhong Scenic Area
memorial garden
1 km N
Fancheng Old Town
twin city district
140 km W
Wudang Mountains
Taoist mountain range
N
Xiangyang
Longzhong Scenic Area
Fancheng Old Town
Wudang Mountains
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Xiangyang — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

It is among the widest defensive moats in China, between 180 and 250 metres across at points. The Northern Song widened it; the depth and width helped the city hold off the Mongols for six years during the siege of 1267 to 1273.

A six-year Mongol-Song engagement from 1267 to 1273 that decided the fall of the Southern Song dynasty. Xiangyang's surrender opened the Han and Yangtze river systems to Kublai Khan's southern campaign.

In northwestern Hubei Province, on the middle reaches of the Han River, about 320 kilometres northwest of Wuhan. The prefecture covers roughly 5.6 million people across the south-bank old town and the north-bank Fancheng district.

The strategist and statesman of the Three Kingdoms period, born in 181 CE. He lived for a decade at Longzhong, in the hills 13 kilometres west of Xiangyang, before Liu Bei recruited him. The hermitage is now a memorial garden.

The standing wall dates to a Ming-dynasty rebuild between 1369 and 1374, atop Han-era foundations. Four gates and the surrounding six-kilometre circuit survive; sections have been restored repeatedly through the Qing and modern periods.

Xiangyang has a humid subtropical climate, with hot wet summers averaging 28°C in July and cool winters around 3°C in January. Spring and autumn are the comfortable visiting seasons; the Han River runs fullest in late summer.

— about the piece in your home

It has carried well for customers from Hubei and the wider Chinese diaspora. Xiangyang anchors the cultural memory of the Three Kingdoms period. A Small or Medium with a handwritten studio note posts cleanly worldwide.

The deep indigo, stone, and willow-green palette sits well in Chinoiserie-modern interiors, in Scholar's Study libraries, and in quieter Wabi-sabi rooms built around dark wood and unglazed pottery.

It reads with the New Chinese Style (新中式) interior current: heritage cities rendered in painterly colour as wall anchors. The Large works alone above a low-line console or a scholar's desk.

A single Large reads at arm's length above a sofa. The 4-tile Mural carries the full city-wall composition; the 9-tile Mural is the choice for a long entry hall or formal sitting room.

Yes. Order it in the Dura Satin or Matte finish for vertical wet-area installations. Both are scratch-resistant and tolerate steam. The Glossy finish is best kept away from direct shower spray.

A microfibre cloth and water handle ordinary dust. Avoid solvents and abrasive cleaners; the colour lives in the ceramic surface and never needs polish or wax.

Yes. The Xiangyang painting was made in our studio by Reid Wender. We do not license outside imagery. Every WenderVista tile is hand-finished in-house in Knoxville, Tennessee.

— if this one stayed with you

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