Province · Central China
Hunan
湖南
The Xiang River country south of Dongting Lake
Hunan is a province in central China south of Dongting Lake, drained by the Xiang River from which it takes its abbreviation 湘. Its capital is Changsha. Known for the Mawangdui tombs, the sandstone pillars of Zhangjiajie, the sacred Mount Heng and a fiercely spicy cuisine, it was also the home province of Mao Zedong and many other figures of modern Chinese history.
Key facts
- Capital
- Changsha
- Abbreviation
- 湘 (Xiāng)
- Area
- about 211,800 km²[1]
- Resident population
- 64.92 million(as of end of 2025)[2]
- Gross regional product
- CNY 5.53 trillion(as of 2025)[2]
- Census population
- 66.44 million(as of 2020 census)[3]
- Divisions
- 13 prefecture-level cities, 1 autonomous prefecture[1]
- UNESCO World Heritage sites
- 3, two of them shared (1992–2015)[4]
Profile
- Chinese name
- 湖南
- Abbreviation (简称)
- 湘
- Type
- Province
- Region
- Central China
- Capital
- Changsha
- Area
- about 211,800 km²
- Divisions
- 13 prefecture-level cities and 1 autonomous prefecture (Xiangxi Tujia and Miao)
- Ethnic groups
- Han, Tujia, Miao, Dong, Yao, Bai
- Languages
- Xiang Chinese, Southwestern Mandarin, Gan, Hmong (Miao), Nüshu
Languages
Xiang Chinese
湘语
The province's own Chinese language group, spoken along the Xiang and Zi valleys; the Changsha variety is the reference, and the more conservative “Old Xiang” is spoken around Shuangfeng and Loudi.
Southwestern Mandarin
西南官话
Spoken in the north-west around Changde and Zhangjiajie and in the south-west.
Gan
赣语
Spoken in the eastern counties along the Jiangxi border, such as Liuyang and Pingjiang.
Hmong (Miao)
苗语
Spoken in western Hunan around Fenghuang and Huayuan.
Nüshu
女书
A syllabic script used only by women in Jiangyong county to write the local dialect — a unique writing system now studied and taught as heritage.
Name and abbreviation
Hunan means “south of the lake” — of Dongting Lake on its northern border. The name goes back to the Song-dynasty Jinghu South Circuit (荆湖南路), and the province was created when the Qing divided Huguang in the 1660s. The abbreviation 湘 is the Xiang River, which flows north through the heart of the province past Changsha into Dongting Lake.
Historic names
潇湘
The Xiao and Xiang rivers, whose confluence at Yongzhou gave a classic theme to Chinese painting and poetry, the “Eight Views of Xiao-Xiang”.
长沙国
The Han-dynasty kingdom of Changsha (202 BCE onwards), whose chancellor's family was buried at Mawangdui.
湖湘
The lake and the Xiang river — the name of the region's scholarly tradition and culture.
芙蓉国
“land of hibiscus”
Literary name from a line by the Tang poet Tan Yongzhi describing the hibiscus along the Xiang in autumn.
Land and climate
Hunan is a horseshoe of mountains open to the north. The Wuling and Xuefeng ranges rise in the west, the Nanling mountains in the south, and the Luoxiao range along the border with Jiangxi in the east. Four large rivers — the Xiang, Zi, Yuan and Li — flow north through hill country and red basins into Dongting Lake and on into the Yangtze, whose course forms part of the northern border.
Landforms
Dongting Lake
洞庭湖
China's second-largest freshwater lake, whose area swells and shrinks dramatically between the summer floods and the dry winter.
Wulingyuan
武陵源
More than three thousand quartz-sandstone pillars and peaks around Zhangjiajie in the Wuling Mountains.
Mount Heng (Nanyue)
衡山
The Southern Mountain of the Five Great Mountains, rising above the Xiang valley near Hengyang.
Langshan
崀山
Red sandstone Danxia landscape in Xinning county, part of the China Danxia World Heritage site.
Nanling Mountains
南岭
The ranges along the southern border, dividing the Yangtze basin from the Pearl River basin.
Rivers and lakes
Xiang River
湘江
Hunan's main river, rising in Guangxi and flowing north past Yongzhou, Hengyang, Xiangtan and Changsha to Dongting Lake.
Zi River
资水
Flows through the hills of Shaoyang and Anhua, the home of Hunan's dark tea.
Yuan River
沅江
Drains the west of the province, including the Miao and Tujia country around Huaihua and Xiangxi.
Li River (Hunan)
澧水
The northernmost of the four rivers, rising in the Zhangjiajie area.
Climate
Humid subtropical, with cold, damp winters and hot summers; spring brings long spells of rain, and the Xiang valley is among the hottest parts of China in July and August. Spring and autumn are the best seasons to travel; the mountains of Zhangjiajie are often misty, which suits the landscape.
History
Hunan has some of the earliest evidence of rice cultivation in the world, and the walled Neolithic town of Chengtoushan. In the Zhou period it was the southern hinterland of Chu, and the poet Qu Yuan died in the Miluo River. The Han kingdom of Changsha left the Mawangdui tombs, with silk texts and a preserved noblewoman. From the Song, the Yuelu Academy made Changsha a centre of Neo-Confucian learning. In the nineteenth century Hunan produced Zeng Guofan's Xiang Army, which defeated the Taiping, and then a generation of reformers and revolutionaries, including Tan Sitong, Huang Xing, Mao Zedong and Liu Shaoqi.
c. 4000 BCE
Walled town at Chengtoushan
The site in Li county, with earth walls, a moat and rice paddies, is one of the oldest walled settlements in China.
278 BCE
Death of Qu Yuan in the Miluo River
The Chu poet's suicide after the fall of the capital Ying is commemorated at the Dragon Boat Festival; his memorial temple stands at Miluo.
202 BCE
Kingdom of Changsha
The Han founder made Wu Rui king of Changsha; the tombs of the chancellor Li Cang and his family at Mawangdui date from the following decades.
976
Yuelu Academy founded
The academy at the foot of Yuelu Mountain became one of the leading centres of Song Neo-Confucian scholarship, where Zhu Xi and Zhang Shi debated in 1167.
1660s
Hunan separated from Huguang
The Qing divided Huguang along Dongting Lake into the provinces of Hubei and Hunan.
1853–1864
The Xiang Army
Zeng Guofan raised a regional army in Hunan that became the main force against the Taiping; Hunanese officials dominated late-Qing politics for a generation.
1898
Hunan reform movement
Changsha was a centre of the Hundred Days' Reform; the reformer Tan Sitong of Liuyang was executed in Beijing when it was suppressed.
1927
Autumn Harvest Uprising
Mao Zedong led an armed uprising on the Hunan–Jiangxi border and then withdrew to the Jinggang Mountains.
1938
The Changsha fire
In November 1938 Nationalist authorities set fire to Changsha in anticipation of a Japanese advance; most of the city was destroyed.
1939–1944
Battles of Changsha
Four major battles were fought for the city; it held three times before falling in 1944.
1972–1974
Excavation of Mawangdui
The Han tombs yielded the preserved body of Lady Xin Zhui, silk paintings, maps and early manuscripts of the Laozi.
1992
Wulingyuan inscribed as World Heritage
The sandstone pillar landscape of Zhangjiajie became Hunan's first World Heritage site.
World heritage
World Heritage sites
Natural · inscribed 1992
Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area
武陵源
Quartz-sandstone pillars, gorges, caves and natural bridges in the Zhangjiajie area.
Natural · inscribed 2010 · shared
中国丹霞·崀山
Hunan's component is Langshan in Xinning county; the serial site includes red-sandstone landscapes in five other provinces.
Cultural · inscribed 2015 · shared
永顺老司城遗址
Laosicheng in Yongshun county, seat of the Peng family of Tujia chieftains for centuries; inscribed with sites in Hubei and Guizhou.
Intangible cultural heritage (UNESCO lists)
Inscribed 2009
Dragon Boat festival
端午节
The inscription includes the Qu Yuan commemorations and boat races at Miluo, where the poet drowned.
Inscribed 2022
Traditional tea processing techniques and associated social practices in China
中国传统制茶技艺及其相关习俗
A nationwide element that includes the dark tea of Anhua and the yellow tea of Junshan in Hunan.
Culture
Hunan's culture is associated with a combative, independent streak — the phrase 吃得苦、耐得烦、霸得蛮 (“able to endure hardship, patient with trouble, stubborn”) is a local self-description. The Huxiang scholarly tradition stressed practical statecraft, which Hunanese see reflected in the officials, generals and revolutionaries the province produced. The west, around Xiangxi and Huaihua, belongs to the Tujia, Miao and Dong, whose stilt houses, silver jewellery and festivals are distinct from the Han lowlands.
昔闻洞庭水，今上岳阳楼。Xī wén Dòngtíng shuǐ, jīn shàng Yuèyáng lóu.
“Long ago I heard of the waters of Dongting; today I climb Yueyang Tower.”
— Du Fu, “Climbing Yueyang Tower” (登岳阳楼), 768
Opera, music and dance
Flower-drum opera
花鼓戏
Lively folk opera sung in local dialects; the Changsha style is the best known.
Xiang opera
湘剧
The classical regional opera of Changsha, with a repertoire of historical plays.
Chenhe gaoqiang
辰河高腔
High-pitched opera style of the Yuan valley, related to the old ritual Nuo theatre.
Crafts
Xiang embroidery
湘绣
One of China's Four Great Embroideries, famous for tigers and lions stitched with split silk to look like fur.
Liling porcelain
醴陵瓷
Porcelain with underglaze colour painting from Liling, developed in the early twentieth century.
Liuyang fireworks
浏阳花炮
Liuyang has been a centre of firework making for centuries and supplies a large share of the world's fireworks.
Miao silverwork
苗族银饰
Headdresses, collars and bracelets hammered by silversmiths in western Hunan.
Festivals and customs
Dragon boats on the Miluo
汨罗江龙舟
Boat races and ceremonies for Qu Yuan on the river where he drowned.
Ganqiu
赶秋
Miao festival at the beginning of autumn, with swings, songs and drum dances.
Areca-nut chewing
槟榔
Widespread in Xiangtan and central Hunan; public-health authorities warn that the habit causes oral cancer.
Cuisine
Hunan cuisine (湘菜) is one of the Eight Great Cuisines. It is hotter than Sichuan food in a more direct way — fresh, pickled and smoked chillies rather than the numbing Sichuan pepper — and makes heavy use of smoked and cured meats, fermented black beans and sour pickles. Home cooking centres on stir-fries with a lot of rice.
Signature dishes
Fish head with chopped chillies
剁椒鱼头
A bighead carp head steamed under a layer of salted, fermented red chillies.
Mao-family red-braised pork
毛氏红烧肉
Pork belly braised with caramelised sugar and chillies but no soy sauce, associated with Shaoshan.
Farmhouse stir-fried pork
农家小炒肉
Sliced pork belly stir-fried with green chillies and garlic — the everyday Hunan dish.
Steamed cured meats
腊味合蒸
Smoked pork, chicken and fish steamed together with chillies and fermented black beans.
Dong'an chicken
东安子鸡
Young chicken poached, then stir-fried with vinegar, ginger and chilli, from Dong'an county.
Changsha stinky tofu
臭豆腐
Black fermented tofu, deep-fried and served with a chilli dressing.
Specialities
Junshan Yinzhen
君山银针
Yellow tea of needle-shaped buds from Junshan Island in Dongting Lake.
Anhua dark tea
安化黑茶
Fermented tea pressed into bricks or packed into long bamboo-wrapped logs (千两茶).
Xiang lotus seeds
湘莲
White lotus seeds from Xiangtan and the lakes, used in sweet soups.
Western Hunan smoked pork
湘西腊肉
Pork cured over wood fires in farmhouse kitchens.
Chrysanthemum stone
菊花石
Stone with flower-like mineral patterns from Liuyang, carved into ornaments and inkstones.
Notable people
Cai Lun (c. 62–121)
蔡伦
Han court official from Leiyang credited with improving paper-making in 105.
Zhou Dunyi (1017–1073)
周敦颐
Song philosopher from Daozhou, a founder of Neo-Confucian cosmology and author of “On the Love of the Lotus”.
Wang Fuzhi (1619–1692)
王夫之
Philosopher and Ming loyalist from Hengyang who wrote in seclusion after the Qing conquest.
Zeng Guofan (1811–1872)
曾国藩
Scholar-official who raised the Xiang Army against the Taiping and led the Self-Strengthening Movement.
Zuo Zongtang (1812–1885)
左宗棠
Qing general and statesman from Xiangyin who recovered Xinjiang in the 1870s.
Qi Baishi (1864–1957)
齐白石
Painter from Xiangtan, a carpenter turned master of ink painting.
Mao Zedong (1893–1976)
毛泽东
Founder of the People's Republic of China, born in Shaoshan.
Shen Congwen (1902–1988)
沈从文
Novelist from Fenghuang whose Border Town (边城) portrays life on the rivers of western Hunan.
Economy
Hunan combines heavy industry, agriculture and a large media sector. The Changsha–Zhuzhou–Xiangtan city cluster is a centre of construction machinery and rail-transport equipment, and the province is rich in non-ferrous metals. It is one of China's main rice producers — hybrid rice was developed by Yuan Longping's team in Hunan — and a large producer of pigs, tea and citrus. Hunan's satellite television and publishing houses give it an influence in popular culture beyond its economic weight.
Main industries
- Construction machinery (Changsha)
- Rail-transport equipment and electric locomotives (Zhuzhou)
- Non-ferrous metals, including antimony, lead and zinc
- Steel and electrical machinery (Xiangtan, Loudi)
- Media, television and publishing
- Fireworks (Liuyang)
- Agriculture: rice, pigs, tea, citrus, freshwater fish
Zones, ports and hubs
Xiangjiang New Area
湘江新区
National-level new area on the west bank of the Xiang in Changsha, approved in 2015.
China (Hunan) Pilot Free Trade Zone
中国（湖南）自由贸易试验区
Established in 2020 with areas in Changsha, Yueyang and Chenzhou and a focus on trade with Africa.
Changsha–Zhuzhou–Xiangtan city cluster
长株潭城市群
Three cities a few dozen kilometres apart on the Xiang, planned as one metropolitan region.
Cities
- Changsha长沙Capital · Historic city · Cultural centreStar City on the Xiang, from Mawangdui to Yuelu Academy
- Zhangjiajie张家界Scenic areaSandstone pillars of Wulingyuan in the Tujia mountains
- Yueyang岳阳Historic city · Port · Cultural centreYueyang Tower above Dongting Lake
- Hengyang衡阳Historic city · Cultural centre · Scenic areaWild Goose City beneath Nanyue, the Southern Mountain
- Xiangtan湘潭Historic city · Industrial centreRiver market town, home of Qi Baishi and of Shaoshan
Getting there
- Changsha Huanghua International Airport is the main gateway; Zhangjiajie Hehua Airport serves the Wulingyuan area.
- Changsha South station is where the Beijing–Guangzhou and Shanghai–Kunming high-speed lines cross; high-speed lines also serve Hengyang, Yueyang, Huaihua and Zhangjiajie.
- Yueyang's Chenglingji port, where Dongting Lake drains into the Yangtze, is the province's river gateway.
Entry rules for foreign visitors are on the visa and entry pages.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Hunan Provincial People's Government — Hunan Provincial People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- 湖南省2025年国民经济和社会发展统计公报 (Statistical Communiqué of Hunan on the 2025 National Economic and Social Development) — Hunan Provincial Bureau of Statistics (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Seventh National Population Census communiqués — National Bureau of Statistics of China (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- World Heritage List: China — UNESCO World Heritage Centre (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Intangible Cultural Heritage: China — UNESCO (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Hunan — Encyclopaedia Britannica (retrieved 27 September 2026)
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