郴州市

Why this place

Chenzhou is a city in the mountains of southern Hunan, and its Gaoyiling is a rare landscape — a bare red rock slope with a reservoir at its foot that looks more like a desert than a Chinese mountain. It is a genuine oddity.

What to see

• Gaoyiling — the red rock slope and lake, one of the strangest sights in Hunan
• Dongjiang Lake and the misty river scenery, popular with photographers at dawn
• Mangshan, a large forest park on the Guangdong border
• The Xiangnan revolutionary sites of the region

What to eat

• Hunan southern-style cooking with cured meat and chilli
• Chenzhou is known for its 'Linwu duck' and its mandarin oranges

Best time

April–June and September–November; Dongjiang's morning mist is best in summer and autumn