Atlas of China
Changsha 长沙Chángshā
Mawangdui's silk books, Yuelu Academy and fireworks from Liuyang
About Changsha
Hunan's capital spreads along the Xiang River around Orange Isle, a strip of parkland five kilometres long, with Yuelu Mountain and the Yuelu Academy, founded under the Northern Song, on the west bank. The Hunan Museum shows the finds from the Western Han tombs at Mawangdui: silk books, lacquerware and the well-preserved body of the noblewoman Xin Zhui. Liuyang, to the east, has made fireworks for centuries, and the city's evenings run late over stinky tofu and spicy crayfish.
What to eat in Changsha
- Changsha stinky tofu (长沙臭豆腐)
- Sugar-oil rice cakes (糖油粑粑)
- Spicy crayfish (口味虾)
Featured places in Changsha
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Hunan Museum 湖南省博物馆
A Han marchioness, her silk banner and a gauze robe as thin as air
Listed sites in Changsha
49 listed sites are in Changsha. These are the 32 rated 5A or 4A; see all 49 in the Hunan list.
- Former Residence of Liu Shaoqi (Huaminglou) 花明楼刘少奇故居 5A scenic area · National heritage site
The birthplace of Liu Shaoqi (1898–1969), president of the People's Republic from 1959 until he was purged in the Cultural Revolution, at Huaminglou in south-eastern Ningxiang. - Yuelu Mountain and Orange Isle 岳麓山·橘子洲 5A scenic area · National heritage site
Yuelu Mountain, a wooded ridge about 300 m high on the west bank of the Xiang River facing central Changsha, has the Lushan Temple founded in 268, the Ming-dynasty Daoist Yunlu Palace, the Aiwan (Autumn-Admiring) Pavilion of 1792 and, near the summit, a 1212 rock-cut copy of the Yu Stele with 77 archaic characters, as well as the tombs of the 1911 revolutionaries Huang Xing and Cai E. Orange Isle, a sand island some 5 km long in the river, has gardens at its southern tip with a giant sculpture of the young Mao Zedong (2009) and a stele of his 1925 poem 'Changsha'. - Changsha Ecological Zoo 长沙生态动物园 4A scenic area · on the map
Changsha's main zoo, opened in 2010 when the old city zoo in Martyrs' Park moved to this 100-hectare site at Muyun in the southern suburbs. - Changsha Landscape and Ecology Garden 长沙园林生态园 4A scenic area · on the map
A landscaped garden park beside the Laodao River at Luohanzhuang village in Kaifu District, on the northern outskirts of Changsha, with about 68 hectares open in its first phase out of a planned 200. - Changsha Riverside Culture Park 长沙滨江文化园 4A scenic area
A cultural complex on the Beichen Delta where the Liuyang River joins the Xiang, fully opened in 2015 on the site of a former chemical works, grouping the Changsha Museum, the city planning exhibition hall, the Changsha Library, a concert hall and a viewing tower. - Changsha Underwater World 长沙海底世界 4A scenic area
An aquarium and marine theme park opened in 2000 in north-eastern Changsha, beside Window of the World, with a 76-metre walk-through tunnel and freshwater and marine galleries. - Dawei Mountain National Forest Park 大围山国家森林公园 4A scenic area · on the map
A national forest park of about 47 km² on the Hunan–Jiangxi border in north-eastern Liuyang, rising to 1,607.8 m at Qixing Ridge, the highest point in the Changsha area, and the source of the Liuyang River. - Former Residence of Hu Yaobang 胡耀邦故居 4A scenic area · National heritage site
Hu Yaobang (1915–1989), who headed the Communist Party as chairman and then general secretary from 1981 to 1987, was born in this Qing brick-and-timber farmhouse of 19 rooms beside the Minxi River in Cangfang village, Zhonghe town, and left it at the age of 15. - Guanshan Ancient Town 关山古镇 4A scenic area · on the map
A rural tourism village in Jinzhou town, Ningxiang, built around a Three Kingdoms theme from the local story that Guan Yu camped his troops here during his campaign against Changsha. - Heimi Peak National Forest Park 黑麋峰 4A scenic area
The highest hill in Wangcheng at 590.5 m, on the district's north-eastern border, protected as a national forest park of about 41 km² with forest covering over 80 per cent. - Huayi Brothers Movie Town (Changsha) 华谊兄弟电影小镇 4A scenic area · on the map
A film-themed leisure town carrying the Huayi Brothers name, opened in 2018 in the Dawangshan resort area of south-western Changsha and built around a replica Italian town modelled on Assisi and Venice, with 35 buildings, five squares, a waterfront and 22 bridges, Italian restaurants and craft shops, and film-set experiences. - Hunan Botanical Garden 湖南省植物园 4A scenic area · on the map
A 120-hectare botanical garden in Yuhua District, southern Changsha, founded in 1985 as the Hunan Forest Botanical Garden and renamed in 2021, which combines research and conservation with public gardens. - Jinggang Ancient Town 靖港古镇 4A scenic area
An old river port on the west bank of the Xiang where the Wei River once flowed in, a rice market and salt depot busy enough to be called 'Little Hankou' until the river was diverted in 1957; it was here that Zeng Guofan, beaten by the Taiping in 1854, threw himself into the river and was pulled out by his men. - Lei Feng Memorial Hall 雷锋纪念馆 4A scenic area
A memorial museum in Wangcheng District to Lei Feng (1940–1962), the People's Liberation Army soldier who became the subject of a nationwide campaign from 1963 that held him up as a model of selfless service. - Longping Rice Culture Park 隆平水稻文化园 4A scenic area · on the map
A park in Furong District, eastern Changsha, centred on the Longping Rice Museum, which opened fully in 2019 with three main halls on the history of rice, rice science and Yuan Longping (1930–2021), the agronomist who developed the first hybrid rice varieties in the 1970s. - Miyin Temple 密印寺 4A scenic area
A Chan Buddhist monastery on Mount Wei (Weishan) in western Ningxiang, founded in the early 9th century by the monk Lingyou, whose teaching gave rise to the Weiyang (also romanised Guiyang) school of Chan, and named Miyin by imperial grant in 849. - Qianlong Lake National Wetland Park 千龙湖 4A scenic area · on the map
A national wetland park around the former Getang Reservoir of 1956 in Jinggang town, Wangcheng, whose two lakes, Qianlong and Tuantou, lie among the farmland of the Dazhongyuan polder. - Qingshuitang (Former Site of the CCP Xiang District Committee) 清水塘 4A scenic area · National heritage site
From late 1921 to April 1923 this small southern-style house at 22 Qingshuitang was the secret office of the Communist Party's Xiang (Hunan) District Committee, with Mao Zedong as secretary, and the home of Mao and Yang Kaihui, whose rooms are furnished as they were. - Sanzhen Tiger Park 三珍虎园 4A scenic area · on the map
A captive tiger breeding centre in Jinjing town, northern Changsha County, holding Siberian and Bengal tigers that visitors watch from boardwalks through the woods and from railed viewing points. - Shiyan Lake 石燕湖 4A scenic area · on the map
A reservoir lake ringed by wooded hills at Tiaoma in Yuhua District, where Changsha, Zhuzhou and Xiangtan meet, run as a 10 km² leisure scenic area. - Site of Joining Forces in Wenjiashi of Autumn Harvest Uprising 秋收起义文家市会师旧址 4A scenic area · National heritage site · on the map
Wenjiashi, a market town on the Jiangxi border, is where the units of the Autumn Harvest Uprising led by Mao Zedong regrouped on 19 September 1927, after their attacks on the cities had failed. - Tian Han Culture Park 田汉文化园 4A scenic area · on the map
A culture park in Guoyuan town, Changsha County, built around the birthplace of Tian Han (1898–1968), the playwright and poet who wrote the lyrics of 'March of the Volunteers', now China's national anthem. - Tianxin Pavilion 天心阁 4A scenic area · National heritage site
The three-storey Tianxin Pavilion stands on the only surviving stretch of Changsha's city wall, a brick rampart of Ming origin some 250 m long and 13 m high that escaped the demolition of the walls in 1923–24. - Tongguan Kiln Archaeological Site Park 长沙铜官窑遗址 4A scenic area · National heritage site
The Changsha kilns, strung along the east bank of the Xiang River at Tongguan, made glazed stoneware from the Tang to the Five Dynasties and are seen as the birthplace of underglaze painted decoration, often with poems and proverbs, for markets as far away as Japan, Southeast Asia, West Asia and Africa. - Tongguan Kiln Guofeng Park 铜官窑国风乐园 4A scenic area · on the map
A large theme park and resort opened in 2018 beside the Tongguan kiln site, with streets in Tang-dynasty style, eight small museums including one on Changsha ware, performance venues, guesthouses and three hotels. - Window of the World (Changsha) 长沙世界之窗 4A scenic area · on the map
A 40-hectare theme park opened in 1997 in north-eastern Changsha that combines scaled-down copies of famous buildings from around the world, such as Neuschwanstein Castle and the Pharos of Alexandria, with amusement rides and seasonal festivals. - Xixi Panshi Grand Canyon 西溪磐石大峡谷 4A scenic area · on the map
A boulder-choked ravine on the south-eastern slopes of the Dawei Mountain range at Tianxi village, Zhangfang town, where a stream drops through pools and cascades between great rocks. - Yang Kaihui Former Residence and Memorial Hall 杨开慧故居和纪念馆 4A scenic area · on the map
The birthplace of Yang Kaihui (1901–1930), Mao Zedong's second wife and mother of three of his sons, who was arrested and executed in 1930, in Kaihui town, northern Changsha County. - Yanghu Wetland Park 洋湖湿地公园 4A scenic area
A national wetland park of about 480 hectares at the mouth of the Jin River on the west bank of the Xiang in southern Yuelu District, created on the old Yanghu flood polder from 2010 and opened in stages from 2011. - Yingzhu Mountain 影珠山 4A scenic area · on the map
A forested ridge of about 509 m in Fulin town, northern Changsha County, with more than 70 linked peaks and spurs, terraced fields, pools, bamboo groves and rock outcrops, and sunrise views over the clouds from the top. - Zhouluo Grand Canyon 周洛大峡谷 4A scenic area · on the map
A mountain scenic area around Shizhu Peak (1,359.7 m) in Shegang town, northern Liuyang, at the source of the Laodao River, with a core of about 14 km² of streams, waterfalls, quartz-veined rock and wild osmanthus groves. - Zilongwan Hot Spring Resort, Huitang 紫龙湾温泉 4A scenic area · on the map
A hot-spring resort in Huitang, the spa town of south-western Ningxiang, set on a hillside below Mount Dongwu and looking over the man-made Zilong Lake.
Getting to Changsha
Train, flight and driving times from the cities most visitors come from, with stations, fares and how many run a day; each opens the full comparison.
- Zhangjiajie 张家界 high-speed train 1 h 45 min, 44 a day, from ¥166
- Wuhan 武汉 high-speed train 1 h 11 min, 155 a day, from ¥199
- Guangzhou 广州 high-speed train 1 h 57 min, 149 a day, from ¥319; 3 nonstop flights a day, 1 h 20 min in the air
- Chongqing 重庆 high-speed train 3 h 53 min, 21 a day, from ¥389; 5 nonstop flights a day, 1 h 35 min in the air
- Guiyang 贵阳 high-speed train 2 h 51 min, 55 a day, from ¥311
- Xiamen 厦门 high-speed train 6 h 16 min, 9 a day, from ¥425; 8 nonstop flights a day, 1 h 40 min in the air
- Hong Kong 香港 high-speed train 2 h 57 min, 6 a day, from ¥592; one nonstop flight a day, 1 h 45 min in the air
- Nanjing 南京 high-speed train 4 h 8 min, 22 a day, from ¥405; 2 nonstop flights a day, 1 h 45 min in the air
- Zhengzhou 郑州 high-speed train 2 h 48 min, 86 a day, from ¥472
- Hangzhou 杭州 high-speed train 3 h 13 min, 50 a day, from ¥437; one nonstop flight a day, 1 h 40 min in the air
- Haikou 海口 train 20 h 7 min, 2 a day, from ¥210; 11 nonstop flights a day, 2 h 15 min in the air
- Kunming 昆明 high-speed train 5 h 24 min, 22 a day, from ¥499; 9 nonstop flights a day, 2 h 5 min in the air
- Qingdao 青岛 high-speed train 6 h 24 min, 6 a day, from ¥832; 8 nonstop flights a day, 2 h 40 min in the air
- Sanya 三亚 train 24 h 12 min, 2 a day, from ¥314; 7 nonstop flights a day, 2 h 25 min in the air
Trips with Changsha
- Zhangjiajie and Fenghuang from Changsha: sandstone pillars and a river town 5 days · Changsha, Zhangjiajie and Fenghuang
On the map
Open Changsha on the illustrated map to see its outline, its places and listed sites together, and to add them to a trip.
Open Changsha on the map