Yueyang is famous for its local special products, including Tortoise-snake Wine, paper folding fans, artistic porcelain wares, wood and bamboo wares, Baling wine, Tuanhu lotus seed and Yinzhen (Silver Needle) tea.

Major tourist attractions include the Yueyang Tower, the Huishi Pagoda, and the Junshan Island in Dongting Lake, where famous Silver Needle tea is produced. It was first built in Tang Dynasty. Since ancient times, a lot of poets and writers have been here because of its striking scenery. You can get a bird's eye view of the lake when you get on the tower. Located above the gateway of the western city wall of Yueyang, the Yueyang Tower, together with the Tengwang Tower in Nanchang, Jiangxi province and the Yellow Crane Tower in Wuchang, Hubei Province, are regarded as the three most famous towers in China.

Yueyang Pavilion (Yueyang Lou) is the major landmark of Yueyang City, comparable with Tengwang Pavilion and Huanghe Pavilion. Similar with the other two, Yueyang Pavilion became famous for a famous poem too. When rebuilt in 1045, Fang Zhongyan was invited to write a poem in memory of the event. In his poem, Fang described the beauty of the structure and indicated his concern about the country and people. The poem was applauded and won the pavilion great fame. A Qing Dynasty wooden screen inscribed with the poem is housed in the pavilion. The present complex was rebuilt in 1867.