4 Chinese and Kyrgyzstani cities compete to become Li Bai's hometown

Being named Li Bai's hometown: the goal of 4 places of 2 countries

Bright moonlight at the foot of my bed.

I suspect it to be frost on the floor.

I watch the bright moon, as I tilt back my head.

I yearn, while stooping, for my homeland once more.

This is the poem "In the Still of the Night" which was written by Li Bai, one of the greatest poets in China's history. The poem expresses the poet's homesickness. But, where was the hometown of the poet? Now, a thousand years has passed, and four places, Jiangyou, Sichuan province; Anlu, Hubei province; Tianshui, Gansu province; and Tokmak, Kyrgyzstan all claim that they are the poet's hometown. A war over the right to be called the hometown of Li Bai has begun.

4 Chinese and Kyrgyzstani cities compete to become Li Bai's hometown

In particular, both the local governments of Jiangyou and Anlu have stopped researching where Li was born, and have begun to argue about it fiercely. It is extremely unusual that governments get involved with an issue such as the hometown of a well-known historical figure.

"Occupying it exclusively" or "sharing it"

The fuse that was lit to begin the war over the hometown of Li Bai was an advertising video introducing the city of Anlu. In the middle of August, 2009, Anlu started to broadcast the video on CCTV4 three times per day. The core content of the video was "welcome to Ailu, the hometown of Li Bai and the land of gingko."

On August 21, the Jiangyou Municipal Publicity Department sent a letter to CCTV and the Hubei Anlu Municipal Publicity Department, saying that Jiangyou was the real hometown of Li Bai, the video made by Anlu infringed on their rights, and should be pulled from broadcasts.

On August 24, Anlu municipal government sent a letter to Jiangyou in reply, saying that they hoped the two cities could share the title "hometown of Li Bai."