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Capital · Historic city · Cultural centre · Hunan

Changsha

长沙 (Chángshā)

Star City on the Xiang, from Mawangdui to Yuelu Academy

Changsha is the capital of Hunan, on the Xiang River in the north-east of the province. It has kept its name for more than two thousand years; it was the seat of the Han kingdom of Changsha, whose tombs at Mawangdui are among the richest finds of Chinese archaeology, and of the Yuelu Academy, founded in 976. The modern city is known for construction machinery, television and a lively night-time food scene.

ProvinceHunan

Key facts

Province
Hunan (capital)
Administrative level
Prefecture-level city
Area
about 11,819 km²[1]
Resident population
10.05 million(as of 2020 census)[2]
Yuelu Academy founded
976

Overview

Changsha lies on the east bank of the Xiang, with Yuelu Mountain and the university district across the river and the long sandbar of Orange Isle in between. Almost nothing of the old walled city survived the fire of November 1938, and the centre was rebuilt after 1949; its history is best seen in its museums, the Yuelu Academy and a few old lanes around Taiping Street.

With Zhuzhou and Xiangtan it forms a metropolitan region on the Xiang. Changsha is home to some of China's largest construction-machinery makers and to Hunan's television and entertainment industry, and it has a reputation as one of China's liveliest cities after dark.

Names and nicknames

  • 星城 (Xīngchéng)

    “Star City”

    From the Changsha star (长沙星), a minor star in the Chinese lunar mansion Zhen, after which the city was said to be named.

  • 楚汉名城 (Chǔ-Hàn míngchéng)

    “Famous city of Chu and Han”, a reference to its early history.

History

Changsha was a Chu town and then the seat of a Qin commandery. Under the Han it was the capital of the kingdom of Changsha; the tombs of its chancellor Li Cang, his wife Xin Zhui and their son at Mawangdui were excavated in the 1970s. The Tang kilns at Tongguan, north of the city, exported painted stoneware across Asia. From 976 the Yuelu Academy made Changsha a centre of learning. The city was opened to foreign trade in 1904, was a seedbed of the revolutions of the early twentieth century, and was burnt in 1938 and fought over four times during the war against Japan.

  1. 202 BCE

    Capital of the kingdom of Changsha

    Wu Rui was enfeoffed as king of Changsha by the Han founder; his kingdom lasted, under different lines, into the Eastern Han.

  2. c. 168 BCE

    The Mawangdui burials

    Tomb 3, the burial of the chancellor's son, is dated 168 BCE; the three tombs contained silk texts, maps, lacquer and the preserved body of Lady Xin Zhui.

  3. 9th century

    Tongguan kilns

    Stoneware with underglaze painting from Tongguan was shipped to South-East Asia and the Middle East; large quantities were found in the Belitung shipwreck.

  4. 976

    Yuelu Academy founded

    One of the leading academies of the Song; it later became Hunan University.

  5. 1904

    Opened to foreign trade

    Changsha became a treaty port under the 1903 Sino-Japanese commercial treaty.

  6. 13 November 1938

    The Changsha fire

    A fire set by Nationalist authorities ahead of an expected Japanese attack destroyed most of the city.

  7. 1996

    Zoumalou bamboo slips

    Over a hundred thousand wooden and bamboo slips from the Wu kingdom of the Three Kingdoms period were found in an old well in the city centre.

Landmarks

  1. Museum

    Hunan Museum

    湖南博物院 (Húnán Bówùyuàn)

    The provincial museum, with the complete finds from the Mawangdui tombs, including Lady Xin Zhui and the T-shaped silk banners.

  2. Historic site

    Yuelu Academy

    岳麓书院 (Yuèlù Shūyuàn)

    Courtyards, lecture halls and library of the Song-founded academy, now part of Hunan University.

  3. Park or garden

    Aiwan Pavilion

    爱晚亭 (Àiwǎn Tíng)

    Eighteenth-century pavilion in a maple valley on Yuelu Mountain, named after a line by Du Mu.

  4. Nature

    Orange Isle

    橘子洲 (Júzi Zhōu)

    Long sandbar island in the Xiang, a park with a monumental sculpture of the young Mao Zedong.

  5. Historic site

    Tianxin Pavilion

    天心阁 (Tiānxīn Gé)

    Tower on the only surviving section of the old city wall.

  6. Museum

    Changsha Bamboo Slips Museum

    长沙简牍博物馆 (Chángshā Jiǎndú Bówùguǎn)

    Displays the Wu-kingdom slips from Zoumalou and other excavated documents.

  7. Temple or shrine

    Kaifu Temple

    开福寺 (Kāifú Sì)

    Buddhist monastery founded in the tenth century under the Chu kingdom of the Five Dynasties.

Neighbourhoods

  • Taiping Street

    太平街 (Tàipíng Jiē)

    Restored old street near the river, with the traditional residence of the Han scholar Jia Yi.

  • Pozi Street

    坡子街 (Pōzi Jiē)

    Food street in the old centre, busy until late at night.

  • Wuyi Square

    五一广场 (Wǔyī Guǎngchǎng)

    The central shopping district around the crossing of Wuyi Avenue and Huangxing Road.

  • Meixi Lake

    梅溪湖 (Méixī Hú)

    New district west of Yuelu Mountain with the Meixi Lake International Culture and Art Centre.

Food

  • Stinky tofu

    臭豆腐 (chòu dòufu)

    Black fermented tofu, fried and served with chilli sauce.

  • Sugar-oil cakes

    糖油粑粑 (tángyóu bābā)

    Glutinous rice cakes fried in oil and glazed with caramelised sugar.

  • Spicy crayfish

    口味虾 (kǒuwèi xiā)

    Crayfish cooked with chilli, garlic and spices — a staple of summer nights.

  • Changsha rice noodles

    长沙米粉 (Chángshā mǐfěn)

    Round rice noodles in broth with braised or stir-fried toppings, the usual breakfast.

Culture

Changsha's scholarly heritage centres on the Yuelu Academy, whose motto 惟楚有材，于斯为盛 (“Chu alone has talent, and here it flourishes most”) hangs over the gate. The city is the home of Hunan flower-drum opera and Xiang embroidery, and of Hunan Television, whose entertainment programmes are watched across China.

停车坐爱枫林晚，霜叶红于二月花。

Tíng chē zuò ài fēnglín wǎn, shuāng yè hóng yú èr yuè huā.

“I stop my carriage, for I love the maple wood at dusk; the frosted leaves are redder than the flowers of spring.”

— Du Mu, “Mountain Walk” (山行), 9th century — the source of the name of Aiwan Pavilion

Getting around

  • The Changsha Metro links the city centre with Changsha South station and the airport; the Changsha Maglev Express, opened in 2016, runs from Changsha South to Huanghua International Airport.
  • Changsha South is the high-speed hub; Changsha station, closer to the centre, handles conventional and some high-speed trains.
  • Intercity trains connect Changsha with Zhuzhou and Xiangtan.

Day trips

  • Shaoshan

    韶山 (Sháoshān)

    Mao Zedong's birthplace, west of Xiangtan.

  • Tongguan kiln site

    铜官窑 (Tóngguān yáo)

    Tang-dynasty kiln sites and an old pottery town on the Xiang, north of the city.

  • Liuyang

    浏阳 (Liúyáng)

    County-level city to the east, known for fireworks and the former home of Tan Sitong.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

  1. Changsha Municipal People's Government — Changsha Municipal People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
  2. Seventh National Population Census communiqués — National Bureau of Statistics of China (retrieved 27 September 2026)
  3. Changsha — Encyclopaedia Britannica (retrieved 27 September 2026)

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