李白 wrote it around 730 as his friend
孟浩然 sailed down the Yangtze from Wuchang to
广陵, the old name of
扬州:
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。 'My old friend leaves Yellow Crane Tower in the west, going down to Yangzhou in the misty blossoms of the third month. The far shadow of his lone sail fades into the blue; I see only the Yangtze flowing to the edge of the sky.'