Home Hunan Province (湖南省), China Travel Guide

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Hunan Province (湖南省) is a province in the central region of China. Its name, which means south of the lake, is derived from its location south of Lake Dongting. It borders Hubei Province to the north, Jiangxi Province to the east, Guangdong Province to the south, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to the southwest, Guizhou Province to the west and Chongqing to the northwest.


Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area, Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province
Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area, Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province
Author: John Phillip (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)

 Hunan Province covers 211,800 sq km (81,800 sq mi) and is the 10th largest province in China. It has a population of 64 million people (2011 estimate), making it the 7th most populous province in the country. Hunan Province has a 2009 GDP of CNY 1.29 trillion (10th highest) and a per capita GDP of CNY 20,226 (20th).

Hunan Province is on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, aboug 1,000 km from Shanghai and 1,200 km from Beijing. The Wuling Mountains are on the northwestern part of Hunan Province, the Xuefeng Mountains to the west, the Nanling Mountains to the south and the Luoxiao Mountains to the east. Apart from the Yangtze, other major rivers are Xiangjiang, Zijiang, Yuanjiang and Lishui, all of which converge on the Yangtze at Lake Dongting.


Aiwan Pavilion, Changsha
Aiwan Pavilion, Changsha
Author: gongfu_king (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)

 The capital and largest city in Hunan Province is Changsha. The province is divided into 13 prefecture-level cities and one autonomous prefecture.

Going to Hunan Province

The main airports of Hunan Province are at Changsha and Zhangjiajie. There are domestic flights from main cities of China.


Lushan Temple, Hunan Province
Lushan Temple, Hunan Province
Author: Zhangmoon618 (public domain)

Tourist Destinations in Hunan Province

  1. Lake Dongting
  2. Meishan Dragon Palace
  3. Mount Heng
  4. Yueyang Pavilion
  5. Zhangjiajie

Main Cities of Hunan Province

  1. Changsha - provincial capital
  2. Changde
  3. Fenghuang
  4. Huaihua
  5. Shaoyang
  6. Zhuzhou
  7. Zixing


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