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General Introduction
Hunan
is situated in the south of the middle reaches
of the Yangtze River. Its name, meaning 'south
of the lake', was derived from the fact that
the province is located south of the Dongting
Lake, the second largest freshwater lake in
China. Because of the Xiang River, which flows
across the province from south to north, Hunan
is also called 'Xiang' in short. Hunan has a
long history, its landscape is magnificent,
and it is home to numerous men of great renown.
Changsha and Yueyang are national famous historical
and cultural cities. There are also 25 national
and provincial scenic resorts, 22 nature reserves
at or above the provincial level, and large
numbers of places of cultural interest. Hunan
is the home province of Mao Zedong, founder
of the People's Republic, and numerous other
outstanding historical figures. Hunan abounds
in mountain delicacies, melons and fruits and
arts and crafts. The Xiang embroidery is one
of the four major schools of Chinese embroidery.
The chrysanthemum stone carvings are much sought
after objects for art collectors and tourists
alike from all over the world.
Climate
Hunan
in the sub-tropics has a warm climate, with
cold, short winters and hot, long summers. It
has four clearly contrasted seasons, abundant
rainfall, a frost-free period of 260-300 days,
and a mean annual precipitation of 1,300-1,700
mm. concentrated mainly in April, May and June.
Its mean annual temperature is 16oC.-18oC.,
and the absolute maximum temperature in Changsha
and Hengyang exceeds 40℃., ranking both among
the hottest places in China.
Topography
With
mountains in the east, south and west, the land
generally slopes from the south towards the
north in the shape of a horsehoof-like basin.
Topographically, it may be divided into five
parts. 1) The Dongting Lake Plain in the northeast,
contiguous to the Jianghan Plain of Hubei and
with numerous rivers and lakes, is known as
a "land of fish and rice". 2) The
Central Hunan Hilly and Basin Area has wide
areas of low hills and mounds and basins and
valleys, Hengyang is the largest of the basins.
The scenic Hengshan Mountain, whose main peak
is 1,290 meters above sea level, is one of China's
five sacred mountains. 3) The Nanling Mountain
Area, rising mostly more than 1,000 meters on
the southern border, is the watershed of the
Yangtze and Zhujiang river systems and the climatic
divide between central and southern China. 4)
The Eastern Hunan Mountain Area is the watershed
of the Xiangjiang and Ganjiang basins. 5) The
Western Hunan Mountain Area, mostly exceeding
1,000 meters in elevation, comprises mainly
the Wuling and Xuefeng mountains: Extending
for more than 300 kilometers, the Xuefeng range
is the natural and economic divide between the
western and eastern parts of the province.
There
are more than 4,700 waterways in Hunan, the
largest being the Xiangjiang, Zishui, Yuanjiang
and Lishui rivers, all of which flow into Dongting
Lake, forming an integrated water system. Dongting,
the second largest freshwater lake in China,
takes the floodwaters of the Yangtze River in
addition to the waters of the four large rivers,
and flows into the Yangtze River at Chenglingji.
SCENES
& SIGHTS
Changsha
Changsha,
capital of Hunan Province, is a famous historical
and cultural city whose tourist resources are
predicated on its historical heritage. Among
the city's 20 or so major attractions are Yuelu
Academy, Han tombs at Mawangdui, King of Wu
Sun Quan's government archives on bamboo slips
found at Zhoumalou, and Hunan Embroidery Institute.
Yuelu
Academy
Yuelu
Academy at the foot of Yuelu Mountain in west
Changsha, was the most important of all the
four academies of the Song as well as China's
earliest government-funded institution of higher
learning. The buildings extant on the premises
are mostly a Qing legacy. Since the Song many
famous scholars had lectured and studied in
this academy.
Han
Tombs at Mawangdui
It
seemed Manwangdui, a place in the eastern suburb
of Changsha, achieved world fame overnight in
the 1970s with the discovery of precious cultural
relics from three large Han tombs. Most eye-catching
of these finds was a woman's corpse so well
preserved that some of its bone joints could
still be flexed, and some of its soft tissues
were still elastic, despite the passage of 2,100
years. Among the other invaluable finds were
3,000 exquisite pieces of lacquer ware and paintings
on silk. The corpse and the other artifacts
are on display in Hunan Museum.
Archives
on Bamboo Slips
A
total of 170,000 bamboo slips were excavated
from Zhoumalou, Changsha, in December 1996.
Inscribed on these slips were official documents
of Changsha Prefecture during the reign of Sun
Quan of the Kingdom of Wu. These files have
furnished valuable material for research into
the history of the Three Kingdoms Period (196-265).
Tianxin
Pavilion
Poised
atop Changsha's 30-metre-high ancient city wall,
Tianxinge Pavilion provides an overview of the
entire city.
Mao's
Residence in Shaoshan
Shaoshan,
104 km west of Changsha, was the birthplace
of Mao Zedong, founder of the People's Republic
of China. Mao's former residence is furnished
the way it was during his childhood and teenage
years.
Yueyang
Yueyang,
situated where the Yangtze flows past Dongting
Lake in north Hunan, was known as Baling or
Yuezhou in old times. Today, it is a famous
historical and cultural city and a key tourist
center whose major scenic spots include Yueyang
Tower, Junshan Mountain, Qu Yuan's Temple and
Tuanhu Lake. Yueyang is also the venue of a
world-famous international dragon boat competition
that takes place during the Dragon Boat Festival
every June.
Dongting
Lake
Covering
an area of 2,820 square km, Dongting is the
second largest freshwater lake which is connected
with the mighty Yangtze. The lake's Junshan
Island, looking magnificent with 72 peaks, is
known for a kind of local tea.
Qu
Yuan's Temple
The
temple, situated on Yusi Mountain by Miluo River
in Yueyang, was dedicated to Qu Yuan, a celebrated
patriotic poet of ancient China.
Tuanhu
Lake
The
Tuanhu (Circular) Lake in Junshan District and
some 20 km from downtown Yueyang, covers an
area of 200 hectares. In summer, lotus flowers
protruding from the midst of green leaves in
a riot of colours, and it is the best season
for boating and picking lotus seeds.
Yueyang
Tower
The
Yueyang Tower, poised atop the western city
gate of Yueyang, is one of the three major towers
in south China. Construction of this tower began
in 716, or the 4th year of Kaiyuan reign of
the Tang. The fame of this tower stems largely
from the essay "On Yueyang Tower"
by Fan Zhongyan, a famed Song writer.
Hengyang
The
south Hunan city of Hengyang is 45km south of
Hengshan Mountain, the southern holy mountain
of China and a famed national tourist resort.
Most visitors choose to stop over at Hengyang
before proceeding to Hengshan Mountain.
Hengshan
Mountain
The
southern holy mountain in China, Hengshan looks
at once old, graceful, mysterious, breathtaking
and exotic. Its 72 peaks form a range that serpentines
for as far as 400km. Atop Zhurong, the major
peak 1,290 metres above sea level, are Zhurong
Hall, Southern Heavenly Gate and Moon Gazing
Terrace. Nanyue Temple on Zhenbei Street at
the entrance to the mountain is a giant 9,800-square-metre
complex laid out in roughly the same way as
the Former Imperial Palace of Beijing. Eight
Taoist temples on the eastern side are arranged
symmetrically with eight Buddhist temples on
the western side to indicate equality between
Buddhism and Taoism. This largest group of ancient
structures in south China is the site of a grand
temple fair every August.
Emperor
Yan's Mausoleum
Fifteen
km to the southwest of Yanling County is the
mausoleum of Emperor Yan, the legendary Divine
Peasant who is regarded as a father of China.
The buildings at the mausoleum were reconstructed
in 1988, forming a five-part complex in the
style of a majestic imperial palace. A grand
ceremony is held every October to pay tribute
to this legendary forefather.
Zhangjiajie
Zhangjiajie,
a northwest Hunan city 400 km from Changsha,
is the site of the national Wulingyuan scenic
resort, the first in China to be endorsed by
UNESCO as a world natural heritage. The resort
covers more than 500 square km and consists
of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park and two
nature reserves-Suoxi Gully and Tianzi Mountain.
With an unmatched sandy quartzie and karst landform,
the resort is a sublime configuration of mountains,
rivers, wood and caves. Major sights: Yellowstone
Village, Golden Whip Stream, Tianzhi Mountain,
Yellow Dragon Cave, Baofeng Lake and Maoyan
River. Zhangjiajie International Forest Protection
Festival is an annual event which takes place
every September.
Jishou
Located
on the eastern side of Wuling Mountain in northwest
Hunan, Jishou is the seat of Xiangxi Tujia and
Miao Autonomous Prefecture. Visitors are attracted
by the distinct folkways of ethnic Tujia and
Miao peoples.
Mengdong
River
There
is something serene and mystic about Mengdong
River as it twists and turns across the karst
terrain of Yongshun County 90 km west of Zhangjiajie.
Narrow and swift, and strewn with dangerous
shoals and rapids, the river is cut out for
daredevils. Rubber dinghies are provided for
those who come to raft the river.
Ancient
Phoenix City
Ming
and Qing architecture remains large intact in
the ancient city of Fenghuang (Phoenix) 53 km
to the south of Jishou City. The streets are
paved with slate, and most dwellings sit on
stilts, looking classically elegant with flying
eaves and curving roof corners. The former residence
of Shen Congwen, a modern Chinese author, is
in the city.
Wangcun,
an Ancient Town
For
the most part of its 2,000-year history, Wangchun
Town was the capital of local ethnical tribal
kings. Situated on the confluence of Mengdong
and Yuanshui rivers, the town features a bluestone-flagged
2.5-km-long main street, an ancient town wall
also built of bluestone, and ethnic Tujia residents'
stilted dwellings.
Taohuayuan
Tourist Zone
Taohuayuan,
the Shangri-la described in the famous Jin writer
Tao Yuanming's "Accounts of Taohuayuan",
is in Taoyuan County under the jurisdiction
of Changde. The place is actually a world of
peach orchards, which look unusually beautiful
when peach flowers are in full bloom. The peach
flower=watching festival takes place at Taohuayuan
every March and April.
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