china travel : china city tours guide : hunan province

changsha

main cities of hunan: changsha , zhuzhou , hengyang , yueyang , xiangtan , shaoyang , lengshuijiang , zhangjiajie

changsha is the capital of hunan province. it partly gained its fame by being close to the birthplace of chairman mao, who was born in shao shan and spent five years studying in the first hunan normal school in changsha.

its important 2,100-year old han excavation has gained attention. in addition, changsha also serves as the gateway to zhangjiajie, a unesco world heritage site.

the terrain of the changsha city is high in the west and low in the east. there are many mountainous areas in the west and in the north, and the xiangjiang river flows south to northwest. it belongs to monsoon climate of sub-tropical zone with annual average temperature being 17.5ºc, annual average precipitation being 1387 mm., and frost-free period being 280 days. it abounds in agricultural and acquatic resources. there are coal, iron, copper, porcelain clay, manganese and tungsten etc. mineral resources, and liuyang is the important producing area for chinese phosphorous ore.

the industries of this city are mainly machine building, food and textile. so far as the cigarette making industry is concerned, it is the important producing area. liuyang is the biggest fireworks and fire-crackers producing area of china. the agriculture is developed here which abounds in producing rice, tea leaves, oranges, tangerines, rape, rapeseeds, peanut, day lily, live pig and fresh water fish etc. the tea leave output is among the top of the whole country.

changsha city is the famous city of historical culture in china. its yuelu academy of classical learning was established in the song dynasty, being the first government run university in china.

besides, there are picturesque yuelu mountain and jiezizhou (tangerine land) etc. scenic spots. famous specialties of tradition are xiangxiu (hunan embroidery), brass or copper wares, tea set, orange and tangerine etc.

location: located at 11153' - 1145' east longitude and 2751' - 2840' north latitude; situated in the east and central part of hunan and the lower reaches of xiang river

neighboring areas: jiangxi, guangdong, guizhou, sichuan, and hubei provinces; guangxi zhuang autonomous region

physical features: high in the south and west and low in the north and east with the xiang river running through the city from south to north; 296-meter-high mt.yuelu in the west and liuyanghe river and ladaohe river east

population: 5.71 million

urban population: 1.63 million

area: 11,818 sq km

nationalities: han, hui, manchu, and mongolian

history: originally called qingyanag, changsha's history dates back to the spring and autumn and warring states periods (770-331 b.c.). after the first emperor of the qin dynasty unified china the changsha prefecture was established. changsha was opened to foreign traders in 1904.

climatic features: the four seasons is obvious and acceptable in changsha. rainy and wet, the temperature increases rapidly and is changeful in spring. summer is long and broiling, which has unbalanced rainfall. comfortable and abundant sunlight that you can enjoy is in autumn. in winter it is nearly rainless and not very cold.

average temperature: 17.5c annually and 4.6c in january and 28.6c in july

rainfall: annual average of 1378mm

mountains: mt. yuelu

rivers: xiangjang river, liuyanghe river and ladaohe river

products: rice, tea, cotton, tobacco, hemp and timber

local highlights: xiangxiu embroidery, earthenware and delicious local snacks

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last updated: march 10, 2006