Hunan Overview

Basic Information

  • Chinese Name: 湖南
  • Administrative Category: Province
  • Location: Central China
  • Area: 211,800 square kilometers
  • Population: 68,602,000(2017)
  • Post Code: 410011-427000

Administrative Divisions

By the end of 2018, Hunan Province has jurisdiction over 13 municipalities, 1 autonomous prefecture, 17 county-level cities, 62 counties, 7 autonomous counties, and 36 municipal districts. The provincial government is located at Xiangfu Road, Tianxin District, Changsha City.

Location

Hunan, referred to as "Xiang", is a provincial-level administrative region of the People's Republic of China. Changsha, the capital of Hunan, is located in central China, between 24°38′-30°08′ north latitude and 108°47′-114°15′ east longitude. It borders Jiangxi in the east, Chongqing and Guizhou in the west, and Guangdong, Guangxi in the south and Hubei in the north. Hunan has a total area of ​​21.18 million square kilometers.

Hunan Climate

Hunan enjoys a continental humid and subtropical monsoon climate with three obvious features:

  • The sunshine, heat and water resources are abundant, which reach their peak nearly at the same time.
  • The climate changes greatly during the year. The winter is cold and the summer is hot. The temperature in spring is changeable and the temperature in autumn always declines abruptly. The spring and summer are rainy, and the autumn and winter are dry. The interannual changes in climate are also larger.
  • The most obvious area with vertical change in climate is the mountainous area embraced on three sides by mountains. Especially the mountains in West and South Hunan are more obvious.

Best Time to Go

Hunan is a place with four distinct seasons. Therefore, it is suitable to visit all year round. Whenever visitors come here, they always have different experience in different seasons.

  • Spring: Everything comes back to life in Spring and it is moderate, which is the best time to visit Hunan. All the plants turns green and flowers are blooming.
  • Summer: It is the best time to visit Xiangxi and it is the peak season for visitors.
  • Autumn: It is a harvest season. Visitors can enjoy the golden rice fields.
  • Winter: It is beautiful when some places are covered with snow, such as Xiangxi, Hengyang. 

Transportation

There are many ways for you to get to Hunan, namely, by air, train, long-distance bus, ship.

Language

Xiang Dialect (湘语) is the biggest native language to Hunan province, and it is also a group of Chinese dialects spoken in most parts of Hunan and in a few adjacent areas. In addition to Xiang dialet, there are also some other Chinese varieties and some non-Chinese native languages, spoken in many places of Hunan province.

Tourism Resources

Located in the south central part of the Chinese mainland, Hunan has long been known for its natural environment. It is surrounded by mountains on the east, west, and south, and by the Yangtze River on the north. For thousands of years, the region has been a major center of agriculture, growing rice, tea, and oranges. China's first all glass suspension bridge was also opened in Hunan.

  • Zhangjiajie, the World Heritage Site and National Park of Wulingyuan, National Forest Park
  • Shaoshan, the county where Mao Zedong was born
  • Yueyang Tower in Yueyang
  • Mount Heng in Hengyang
  • Fenghuang County in Xiangxi Prefecture
  • Hongjiang River

Economy

As of the mid 19th century, Hunan exported rhubarb, musk, honey, tobacco, hemp, and birds. The Lake Dongting area is an important center of ramie production, and Hunan is also an important center of tea cultivation. Aside from agricultural products, in recent years Hunan has grown to become an important center for steel, machinery and electronics production, especially as China's manufacturing sector moves away from coastal provinces such as Guangdong and Zhejiang. Hunan is also well known for a few international makers of construction equipments such as concrete pumps, cranes, etc. These companies include Sany Group, Zoomlion and Sunward. Sany is one of the major players in the world. Liuyang is the major maker of fireworks in the world.

Keep Reading