Li Bai traveled to various places throughout his life, with his footprints covering most of the Tang Empire. Using place names in poetry is not only a reflection of Li Bai’s unpredictable lifestyle, but also his preferred way of expressing emotions. Li Bai used place names in his poetry to structure his poems and lay out emotions, containing three main psychological mechanisms. Firstly, Li Bai often associates things carried by the literal meaning of place names, and extends his poetry with his unique psychological feelings, expressing complex emotions in his heart. Secondly, place names and the history, legends, and regional culture they carry, as important contents of the poet’s knowledge reserve, often form the basis for the establishment of Li Bai’s related poetry themes and emotional expression. Thirdly, Li Bai often uses place names as a representation to write and construct poems, reproducing past travel experiences and expressing transcending experiences across time and space.