永州市

Why this place

Yongzhou is where Liu Zongyuan was exiled in the Tang dynasty and wrote the 'Eight Records of Yongzhou' — some of the best classical Chinese prose about landscape. The city still has the sites he described, and the surrounding hills are the landscape he wrote about.

What to see

• The Xiaoxiang and the Yu Xi sites, in the landscape Liu Zongyuan wrote about
• The Yongzhou Confucian temple and the old city's stone streets
• Jiuyi Mountain, with the tomb of the legendary emperor Shun, in the south of the prefecture
• The Xiang River headwaters and the southern Hunan countryside

What to eat

• Hunan southern cooking, with river fish and the local cured meats
• Yongzhou is known for its 'Dong'an chicken' dishes

Best time

April–June and September–November