Sights in Húnán
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Húnán Provincial Museum
Not to be missed, this first-rate museum has fascinating exhibits from the 2100-year-old Western Han tombs of Mǎwángduī, some 5km east of the city.
The items on show allow you to get a rare handle on Western Han aesthetics – check out the astonishing expressions on the faces of some of the wooden figurines. Also excavated are more than 700 pieces of lacquerware, Han silk textiles and ancient manuscripts on silk and bamboo wooden slips, including one of the earlier versions of the Zhōuyì (Yìjīng, also called I Ching), written in formalised Han clerical script.
But the highlight is the body of the Marquess of Dai, extracted from her magnificent multilayered lacquered…
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Chángshā City Museum
A colossal 1968 statue of Mao – cast out of an aluminium-magnesium alloy in Hēilóngjiāng – affably greets you at the entrance to the museum's pleasant grounds. Compare his carriage – right arm raised aloft, heralding a new dawn – with that of his more demure statue erected in Sháoshān in 1993, when the reform drive had long kicked in and Mao was a demigod no more.
The statue is the first clue that this hammer and sickle–decorated museum is essentially a shrine to Chángshā's most famous adopted son, despite the paintings, ceramics and jade on display here. Check out the huge portrait of the young Mao, with shafts of light emanating from his head, which hangs o…
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Húnán No 1 Teachers' Training School
Mao attended classes here between 1913 and 1918; he returned to teach Chinese from 1920 to 1922. It's still a working college and if you're lucky a student keen to practise their English will show you around the place, including Mao's dormitory, his old classrooms, halls where he held some of his first political meetings and an open-air well where he enjoyed taking cold baths. Otherwise, there are a few English captions. Take bus 1 from the train station.
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Hunan CPC Committee
It is the former site of Mao's living quarters and includes photos and historical items from the 1920s, along with a wall where Mao's poems are on view. A small and fun antiques market materialises at the museum gate on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
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Yuelu Academy
Hunan University (Húnán Dàxué) evolved from the site of the Yuelu Academy, which was established during the Song dynasty for scholars to prepare for civil examinations.
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Yuelu Park
This park (yuèlù gōngyuán), at the bottom of the High Mountain Park, is one of Changsha's most historic spots and is a pleasant place to visit.
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Tiānxīn Gé
The only remaining part of the old city walls is a popular place to escape the summer heat. It's off Chengnan Xilu. Catch bus 212 from the train station.
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Yang Family Ancestral Hall
Further along the wall is this building, its exterior still decorated with Maoist slogans from the Cultural Revolution.
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Wǔlíngyuán
There are two principal access points to Wǔlíngyuán. Zhāngjiājiè village (张家界村; Zhāngjiājiè cūn), the site of the south entrance, is the more appealing option, situated nearly 600m above sea level in the Wǔlíng foothills, surrounded by sheer cliffs and vertical rock outcrops. It's technically known as the Zhāngjiājiè National Park Entrance (张家界公园门票站; Zhāngjiājiè Gōngyuán Ménpiàozhàn), but the locals mostly refer to it as simply Forest Park (森林公园; Sēnlín Gōngyuán).
From the east, you can use the Wǔlíngyuán Entrance (武陵源门票站; Wǔlíngyuán Ménpiàozhàn), east of Suǒxī Lake (索溪湖; Suǒxī Hú). In the north of Wǔlíngyuán is…
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Tian Family Ancestral Temple
Currently shut, this temple is a portrait of Fènghuáng in neglect: it's overgrown with weeds.
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Three Kings Temple
A welcome respite from the crowds and good views over town await at this temple, up a steep flight of steps off Jianshe Lu.
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Southern Great Wall
This Ming-dynasty construction is 13km outside town – reach it by bus (Y5) from Fènghuáng – but it doesn't compare with the bastion that fortified north China.
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Queen of Heaven Temple
Off Dongzheng Jie, this simple temple is dedicated to the patron deity of seafarers.
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Pǔguāng Temple
Within Zhāngjiājiè city, this temple is a well-preserved historic Buddhist shrine.
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Nányuè Temple
Located in Nányuè, this vast temple dates from the Tang dynasty and was rebuilt during the Qing dynasty. Take note of the column supports, one for each of the mountains in the Taoist range, purportedly.
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Nán'àn School
Shut for repairs at the time of writing, this frugal school, its interior illuminated by light wells, is where Mao began his education. Climb the stairs to glimpse Mao's place of study, eyeball the teacher's bed downstairs and peer at fading photos of relatives and descendants.
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Museum of Comrade Mao
One of the few freebies in Sháoshān, this museum lacks English captions, but the photos of Mao's life and exhibits of his belongings are self-explanatory. To the right as you face the museum and opposite the bronze statue of Mao Zedong (decorated with calligraphy by Jiang Zemin) is the Mao Family Ancestral Hall (毛氏宗祠; Máo Shì Zōngcí), which is now closed to visitors.
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Mao's Childhood House
Sited in front of a pond, this simple mud-brick house with a thatched roof and stable is the village's shrine. Mao was born here in 1893 and returned to live here briefly in 1927. Among the paraphernalia are kitchen utensils, original furnishings, bedding and photos of Mao's parents, with facilities including a small barn and cattle pen. No photography is allowed inside.
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Laoying Shao
Ever-developing street of bars, cafes and shops overlooking the river.
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Jiāngxīn Buddhist Temple
This temple is on Huilong Ge, a narrow alley of shops, hotels and restaurants east of Hóng Bridge.
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Huángsī Bridge Old Town
Also outside town, this village is similar in character to Fènghuáng.
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Hóng Bridge
This magnificent covered bridge spans the river. The upstairs galleries are covered by the through ticket.
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