Hunan湖南·湘 / 三湘
Avatar-style sandstone pillars, fiery cuisine, and Mao Zedong's hometown.
Hunan is a province of dramatic , , and the rural villages where grew up.
's towering sandstone pillars inspired the floating mountains of "Avatar", and Changsha is one of the youngest, most in China.
The province is also — birthplace of an outsized share of the founding leaders of both the Republican and Communist Chinese eras.
Top Attractions
Culture & Traditions
Xiang Cuisine
Hunan food is one of the spiciest in China — distinct from Sichuan by its sour-and-smoky lean. Try chairman Mao's red-braised pork, steamed fish head with chopped chilies, and stinky tofu fried curb-side.
Mao Heritage Tourism
Mao Zedong was born and educated in Hunan. Shaoshan, Yuelu Academy and the First Normal School in Changsha together form one of the country's most-visited "red tourism" circuits.
Miao & Tujia Minorities
Western Hunan is home to the Tujia, Miao and Dong peoples. Their stilt-house architecture, embroidered silver headdresses, and song-and-dance traditions are best seen at Fenghuang or Dehang.
Internet-Famous Food Capital
Changsha has become China's de-facto millennial food capital — Wenheyou's seafood mall, Cha Yan Yue Se milk tea queues, and crayfish night markets all started here.
Shaoyang Blue Calico
A 2,000-year-old indigo resin-paste resist-dyeing tradition from western Hunan, producing the bold blue-and-white textile patterns now sold as scarves and home goods.
Cities
11 prefecture-level · sorted by tourist popularity- 1
Changsha
长沙CapitalProvincial capital — Yuelu Academy, Orange Isle (Young Mao statue), Wenheyou retro-mall, Cha Yan Yue Se milk-tea queues, and the Hunan Museum (Mawangdui Han tomb's incredibly preserved silk gown).
- 2
Zhangjiajie
张家界Avatar-mountain gateway — Zhangjiajie National Forest Park (sandstone pillars), Tianmen Mountain cable-car, Glass Bridge (366 m above the canyon), and the Tujia-cultural village of Wulingyuan.
- 3
Xiangxi (Jishou)
湘西（吉首）Tujia-Miao Autonomous Prefecture in northwest Hunan — Fenghuang ancient town, Furong (Hibiscus) Town, Dehang village, Aizhai super-bridge, and Shen Congwen's birthplace.
- 4
Yueyang
岳阳North-Hunan Yangtze city — Yueyang Tower (one of the Four Great Towers of South China, Fan Zhongyan's famous essay), Dongting Lake (China's 2nd-largest freshwater lake), and Junshan Island.
- 5
Hengyang
衡阳Mount Heng (Nanyue Sacred Mountain) gateway city — Nanyue Da Miao temple complex, Cai Lun (paper inventor) birthplace at Leiyang 60 km south, and the Shigu Academy.
- 6
Xiangtan
湘潭Birthplace prefecture of Mao Zedong (Shaoshan), Peng Dehuai (Xiangxiang) and Qi Baishi; also the source of Hunan's spiciest chopped-chili fish-head dishes.
- 7
Shaoyang
邵阳Western Hunan — Langshan UNESCO Danxia geopark, Shaoyang Blue Calico (indigo resist-dyeing tradition), and the Liangshan Yao-minority villages.
- 8
Chenzhou
郴州Southeast Hunan on the Guangdong border — Dongjiang Lake (the "ten thousand-island lake"), Wulingyuan-extension Su Xian Ridge, and the world's largest tin reserves at Shizhuyuan.
Famous Locals
Plan your trip to Hunan
Dig into expert travel guides and ask the community for tips tailored to your dates and interests.