Ask a QuestionWhere are the best places to visit in Changsha? As an ancient city with rich historical and natural relics, Changsha is one of the popular tourist cities in China. Then, where to visit in Changsha? Here, TopChinaTravel would like to introduce the famous Places in this city for you to uncover its brilliant glory of the past and also the incomparable natural beauty. You will be impressed by its grand mountain view, well-preserved ancient architectures and also the ancient school site, etc.
Yuelu Academy is one of the 4 major academies in ancient China, which situated at the foot of Yuelu Mountain on the campus of Hunan University, in the central area of Changsha City. It was first built in 976, during the early Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), which integrated three major functions: giving lectures, collecting books and holding memorial ceremonies.
As an important national library and academic center, Yuelu Academy cultivated numerous qualified people for the ancient emperors. In late Qing Dynasty, it reformed as Hunan High School, the predecessor of Hunan University. Now, it is part of Hunan University and a center of publication and research of the ancient Chinese language. The historical transformation from Yuelu Academy to Hunan University can be seen as the epitome of the development of China's higher education.
Inside the academy, there are some historical sites, such as Wenchang Pavilion, Library of Imperial Books and Xiangshui Sutra Proofreading Hall.
Only 4km away, located in the eastern suburbs of Changsha, the Mawangdui Han Tombs were served for the prime minister Li Cang and his family members of Changsha State during the early Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C. – A.D.24).
All three tombs inside were excavated between 1972 and 1974. The coffin chambers were well-conceived laid out. Over 3,000 cultural relics have been excavated from the Han tombs, such as a thin gauze cloth, weighing 49g, beautiful silk writings and paintings, a women corpse that had been well preserved for more than 2,000 years. All these cultural relics are now preserved in the Hunan Provincial Museum.
As one of the Five Great Mountains of China, with a height of 1,300.2 m, Mt. Hengshan is one of the most famous and popular tourist destinations in Hunan Province. Locates in southeastern Hunan, 129 km away from Changsha, Mt. Hengshan is known as a "solitary beautiful mountain in southern China", with superb natural scenery and brilliant religious culture, which earning it a place on the UNESCO World Natural and Cultural Heritage Site list.
It is the religious centre of south China, the scared place of Taoism and the birth place of several Buddhism Schools. It has four blessed spots of Taoist, the Zhuling Cave Heaven and Qingyu Tan, Guangtian Tan and Donglingyuan four Heavenly Abodes.
Situated in the northern part of Hunan Province, Dongting Lake is the second largest freshwater lake, and the fourth largest lake of China, with an average about 2,820 km². It is a flood-basin of the Yangtze River, which is fed by four major rivers, which are Xiang River, Zi River, Yuan River and Feng River, and also some other small rivers. Thus its size is varied with the season.
The area is well-known in Chinese history and literature. According to the local legend, a dragon-king is living at the bottom of the lake, who is actually the lake god that commands all the creatures in the lake. Dragon boat racing is also said to have begun on the eastern shores of Dongting Lake as a search for the body of Qu Yuan, the Chu poet (340-278 BC).
Standing on the west bank of Dongting Lake, Yueyang Tower is one of the three great towers in south of the Yangtze River, along with the Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan and the Prince Teng's Pavilion in Nanchang. This tower enjoys superb geographical condition that looking down at the Dongting Lake, facing the Junshan Island in the distance, and linking the Yangtze River to the north and the Xiangjiang River to the south. Thus it is said that the site was originally an inspection platform for the general Lu Su of the Wu Kingdom (222-250AD) to train his naval troops.
The tower was constructed around 220 AD, on the Yueyang Old Town's West Gate, with a grand force of view and a remarkable structure. The main tower, with a total height of 21.35 meters, has 4 major columns, 3 stories, flying eave and helmet roof and wood construction. The helmet-roof of such a large dimension is a rarity among the ancient architectures in China.
Take a visit inside, tourists can find poems, paintings, calligraphic words, tree-root carvings, and the different models of Yueyang Tower of Song (960-1279), Yuan (1271-1368), Ming and Qing dynasties.
More famous attractions in Changsha please click Changsha Attractions
Highly Recommended Tours: ChangshaTours
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