Leisure and Sightseeing, Hunan Explorations (Part 1)
Section 1: Pavilions, Archways, Halls and Rural Antiquities. One of the Three Great Towers of Jiangnan — Yueyang Tower. Yueyang Tower stands at the west gate of Yueyang City, Hunan Province, close to the shores of Dongting Lake. Since ancient times it has been praised as "Dongting's waters are the finest under heaven, Yueyang Tower is the finest tower under heaven." Together with Tengwang Pavilion in Nanchang, Jiangxi, and Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan, Hubei, it is known as one of the Three Great Towers of Jiangnan. Yueyang Tower is the only one of the three that retains...
This article has been compiled from historical materials in the "Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network" (33519.com · City Overview section). Some administrative divisions, population, socioeconomic data, and policy information may be outdated and are for reference only; for the latest situation, please refer to official releases by the local government and scenic areas.
Section One
Towers, Pavilions, and Halls, Rural Antiques
One of the Three Great Towers of Jiangnan — Yueyang Tower
Yueyang Tower stands on the city wall at the west gate of Yueyang City, Hunan Province, close to the shores of Dongting Lake. Since ancient times it has enjoyed the reputation of "Dongting's waters are the finest under heaven, Yueyang Tower is the finest under heaven," and together with Tengwang Pavilion in Nanchang, Jiangxi, and Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan, Hubei, it is known as one of the Three Great Towers of Jiangnan. Yueyang Tower is the only ancient building among the three that retains its original appearance, with incomparable architectural artistic value. Yueyang Tower was first built around 220 AD, with a history of more than 1,700 years. Its predecessor is said to have been the "Military Review Tower" of Lu Su, a great general of the Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period. During the Western Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties, it was called "Baling City Tower," and after the Mid-Tang poet Li Bai wrote a poem about it, it began to be called "Yueyang Tower." Fan Zhongyan's widely recited "Record of Yueyang Tower" from the Northern Song Dynasty made Yueyang Tower even more famous throughout the world. In August 1988, it was listed by the State Council as a national key scenic and historic reserve.
The First Scenic Wonder of the Upper Chu South — Furong Tower at Ancient Longbiao in Hongjiang
The Ancient Longbiao Furong Tower is located in Qiancheng Town, Hongjiang City, Huaihua, Hunan. Facing forward is the tower, the taller structure is a pavilion, and the arched and winged structures are corridors. It features uniformly blue-tiled roofs, with colorful clay sculptures on the roof ridges, rich in local flavor, with upturned eaves and rolled buttresses, restrained and elegant, delicate and pleasant — a classical garden-style architecture. Furong Tower covers an area of 4,250 square meters, with its northern edge facing the river and nestled against the hills amid the forest. With ingenious construction and well-arranged layout, it is praised as "the First Scenic Wonder of the Upper Chu South." It is a place where literati and poets of past dynasties composed poems and painted, and also where the famous Tang Dynasty poet Wang Changling entertained guests and saw them off. In the seventh year of Tianbao of the Tang Dynasty (748 AD), "Poet Emperor" Wang Changling was demoted to Longbiao Commandant due to "not being careful in conduct, causing a flood of slander." After being exiled to Longbiao, the poet wrote many widely recited famous poems. "Furong Tower" is a key cultural relic protection unit of Hunan Province.
Hunan's Tallest Dong Village Drum Tower — Matian Drum Tower in Tongdao
Matian Drum Tower is located in Tianxin Village, Pingyang Township, Tongdao Dong Autonomous County, Hunan Province, 30 kilometers from the county seat. It was first built during the Shunzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, with a history of more than 300 years. It was rebuilt in 1960 and is a key cultural relic protection unit of Hunan Province. The tower base is 8 meters square, 15.6 meters tall, with 9 stories in total, supported by 8 large fir pillars, wider at the bottom and narrower at the top, stacked upward — it is the tallest Dong village drum tower in Hunan. The 1st through 8th stories are all four-cornered, and the 9th story is eight-cornered. On the four-sided tile eaves are symmetrically sculpted figures symbolizing good fortune and happiness, such as flying dragons, qilin, phoenixes, peacocks, aoyu (mythical sea creatures), mighty lions, and running deer. This pure wooden structure "combines the tranquility of a cool pavilion with the magnificence of a pagoda," and is a masterpiece of Dong architectural art.
One of China's Four Great Pavilions — Aiwan Pavilion in Changsha
Aiwan Pavilion, originally named Hongye Pavilion (Red Leaf Pavilion), is located in Qingfeng Gorge at the foot of Yuelu Mountain. The pavilion faces east with its back to the west, surrounded by mountains on three sides. It was first built during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty and named after Du Mu's poetic line "Stopping the carriage, I love the maple grove at dusk; frost-bitten leaves are redder than February flowers." The pavilion is simple and elegant, with golden pillars and red lacquer inside, four upturned winged corners, and covered with green glazed tiles. Whether exiting the back gate of Yuelu Academy or turning right from the mountain entrance, the two mountains narrow to form a bottleneck; upon reaching what seems like the end of the path, it suddenly opens up, revealing two ponds as green as jade, and at the end of the ponds is the soaring Aiwan Pavilion. After numerous major renovations during the Tongzhi, Guangxu, Xuantong, and Republican periods, and after the founding of New China, it gradually took its present form. Aiwan Pavilion, together with Zuiweng Pavilion in Chuxian, Anhui (built in 1046), Huxin Pavilion on West Lake in Hangzhou (built in 1552), and Taoran Pavilion in Beijing's Taoran Pavilion Park (built in 1695), is known as one of China's Four Great Pavilions, and is a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit. Aiwan Pavilion is a site of revolutionary activities. When Mao Zedong was studying at the First Normal School in his youth, he often went with Luo Xuezan, Zhang Kundi, and others to Yuelu Academy, and gathered with Cai Hesen at Aiwan Pavilion, freely discussing current affairs and seeking truth. For this reason, when Aiwan Pavilion was rebuilt in 1952, Li Da, president of Hunan University, wrote to Chairman Mao Zedong requesting him to inscribe the pavilion's name, and Chairman Mao Zedong happily accepted the request.
Hunan's Largest and Best-Preserved Stone Pavilion — Daguanling Stone Pavilion in Xintian
At the foot of Daguanling Mountain in Xintian County stands the most "luxurious" ancient pavilion in the province to date. The entire pavilion is built of stone. While ordinary pavilions have only front and back entrances, this ancient pavilion has four entrances — front, back, left, and right — and is relatively large in scale, with exquisitely carved decorations inside. Archaeological experts say that stone ancient pavilions are very rare in Hunan, and this stone pavilion is the largest in scale and the best preserved.
Hunan's Rare Thousand-Year Buddhist Structure — Changde Iron Pillar
The Changde Iron Pillar, also known as the Changde Iron Sutra Pillar, is now located in Changde Binhu Park. Sutra pillars are one of the commemorative structures unique to ancient Buddhism. The pillar is 4.45 meters tall and weighs 1.5 tons, with 20 tiers on the body, cast on the surface with the full text of the Buddhist "Prajnaparamita Sutra" as well as numerous Buddhist figures, decorative patterns, and other designs. The pillar was cast in the early Northern Song Dynasty from pig iron, imitating a wooden structure. More than a thousand years have passed since its construction, yet it remains shiny and undamaged — truly rare both domestically and internationally. It is rarely seen among extant sutra pillars in China and is important material for studying China's Buddhist history and the history of iron smelting and casting. In 1982, it was listed by the State Council as a national key cultural relic protection unit.
China's Earliest Extant Censorate Censor Memorial Arch — Xiuyi Arch in Rucheng
The bluestone archway "Xiuyi Arch" is located in front of the Fan Family Ancestral Hall in Fanjia Village, Rucheng County. It is China's earliest extant and only memorial archway specifically honoring a censor. Xiuyi Arch was completed in the 14th year of Zhengde of the Ming Dynasty. It was built by the important Ming figure Mao Bowen to commemorate the famous Ming Dynasty censor Fan Lu. Xiuyi Arch faces east with its back to the west, with four pillars and three gates, of the non-protruding type, 6.86 meters tall and 6.50 meters wide, with imitation-wood arched stone dougong brackets under each tier's eaves. It features openwork carvings and reliefs of paired phoenixes facing the sun, paired lions playing with balls, three phoenixes facing the sun, paired qilin playing with balls, phoenixes, egrets, lotus flowers, paired monkeys picking peaches, eagles, goats, partridges, river deer, peacock and peony, phoenix and peony, and other patterns. The overall form is exquisite in design, stable in structure, and fine in craftsmanship. Particularly noteworthy is its unique ingenuity, comprehensively employing various techniques such as intaglio carving, relief, round carving, and openwork carving, making the entire archway delicate and exquisite without losing solemnity — truly a representative masterpiece of stone archway art from the mid-Ming Dynasty.
The First Pavilion of Xiaoxiang — Shuifu Pavilion
Shuifu Pavilion, also known as Huangwen Pavilion, is located in the Taohuayuan Scenic Area. It is said to be the place where Huang Dongyuan and Huang Daozhen heard the Dao. It is a three-story brick-and-wood classical structure that once enshrined General Yang Si. It was destroyed in 1961 and rebuilt in recent years. It covers an area of 1,740 square kilometers and is 36.3 meters tall, a four-story pavilion with double eaves and a hip-and-gable roof. Shuifu Pavilion sits high atop Huangwen Mountain, with cliffs as steep as if cut and walls standing a thousand fathoms high. The magnificent pavilion's jeweled top gleams with gold, its glazed tiles display vermilion, and its owl-tail finials dip toward the sky. It faces Gaozhu Pavilion to the north and south, and stands across the river from "Fishing Village Sunset," one of the Eight Views of Xiaoxiang. Below it overlooks Taochuan, in front lies Baima, to the east one gazes toward Dongting, and to the west one looks back at Hutou. Rafts drift, fishing boats sing in the evening, the river and sky are vast and open, and the momentum is majestic and profound — contemporaries praise it as the First Pavilion of Xiaoxiang.
China's Most Beautiful Small Town — Fenghuang Ancient Town in Xiangxi
Fenghuang Ancient Town was first built in the 43rd year of Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1704). After 300 years of vicissitudes, its ancient appearance remains. Fenghuang Ancient Town takes the main street as its central axis, connecting countless small alleys and linking the entire town. On both sides of Fenghuang Ancient Street, the buildings have upturned eaves and dougong brackets, and the shops display a dazzling array of ethnic handicrafts. The rich ancient charm and flavor reveal the profound ethnic cultural heritage of the ancient street. Fenghuang Ancient Town is a national historical and cultural city and was once praised by the famous New Zealand writer Rewi Alley as China's most beautiful small town. It is adjacent to Dehang Miao Village in Jishou, Mengdong River in Yongshun, and Fanjing Mountain in Guizhou, and is a necessary route between Huaihua, Jishou, and Tongren in Guizhou. Fenghuang's scenery organically blends natural and cultural qualities into one. The sense of weight seen through it may be precisely the essence of its charm that attracts visitors from all directions. This "Pearl of Xiangxi" is truly "small" — so small that within the town there is only one decent east-west main street — yet it is a green corridor.
Hunan's Red Tourism Scenic Area Receiving the Most Visitors — Shaoshan City
On December 26, 1990, with the approval of the State Council, Shaoshan District of Xiangtan City was abolished and county-level Shaoshan City was established. Shaoshan is the hometown of the great leader Mao Zedong, a nationally famous revolutionary memorial site, and a national key scenic area. Tourism has become the leading industry of Shaoshan, basically forming a comprehensive tourism area with cultural landscapes such as Mao Zedong's Former Residence, Mao Zedong Bronze Statue, Mao Zedong Memorial Hall, Mao Zedong Poetry Stele Forest, and Mao Zedong Memorial Park as the main body, and natural landscapes such as Shaofeng, Dripping Water Cave, and Heishizhai as the foundation, with 7 major scenic areas and 82 scenic spots, integrating tourism, pilgrimage, entertainment, and leisure. It is rich in historical culture, great man culture, and ecological culture, with excellent development prospects. Since the founding of New China, Shaoshan has received more than 40 million Chinese and foreign visitors. In recent years, the number of tourists to Shaoshan has been around 1.8 million per year, making it the scenic area receiving the most visitors in our province.
Hunan's Most Spectacular Egret Kingdom — Huayanxi in Changde
Less than three kilometers east from the center of the Huayanxi Scenic Area, the Huangchong and Mushanling areas are the hometown of egrets, praised as the "Egret City" and a major sight of the Huayanxi Scenic Area. Every spring, hundreds of thousands of egrets migrate from the south, settle here, happily pair up, and raise their young. Viewed from afar, the treetops of the forest sea are covered with flocks of egrets, like a heavy snowfall of goose feathers, decorating the mountain forest with extraordinary beauty. Egrets resemble cranes but are smaller, with orange beaks that are both pointed and long, and slender curved necks, appearing very elegant. Egrets have large wings and short tails, pure white feathers, and graceful postures, making them delightful and endearing.
Hunan's Most Ethnically Rich Village — Tongdao Dong Township
Tongdao has rich folk customs, beautiful mountain and water scenery, wonders and scenic spots everywhere, and a pleasant living environment. It is a rare ecological oasis and tourist leisure destination. Its tourism resources are abundant and distinctive, mainly composed of three major sections: Dong ethnic customs, natural ecology, and historical culture. It is one of Hunan Province's "New Eight Views of Xiaoxiang" in the cultural leisure category. The Dong people live in clans, mostly one surname per village. Villages are nestled against mountains and near water, with covered bridges over streams, and villages have drum towers, village gates, lusheng grounds, ponds, Sa altars, and ancestral halls. Around the villages are preserved scenic forests, with wells, oil-pressing houses, and mills. In the Xiaxiang area there are granary towers (places for singing). The Miao people set up water tanks (for firefighting) at the back of villages, with one ancestral hall per surname, and have song halls and embroidery towers. One garden per surname (a place for antiphonal singing). Dong villages are a paradise of music. The Dong people are good at singing and dancing, especially at singing mountain songs and love songs — sung according to custom during festivals, when villages interact collectively, and when young men and women court and express affection. A saying popular in Dong villages is "Rice nourishes the body, songs nourish the heart," meaning the Dong people regard singing as equally important as eating. During grand festivals, when relatives and friends from other villages come to visit, the whole village gathers at the wind-and-rain bridge, dressed in their finest to welcome them, singing blocking-the-way songs, offering guest wine, and competing in lusheng dances, displaying rich ethnic customs.