湖南省

Why this place

Hunan is the province of the hottest food in China and of Zhangjiajie's quartz pillars, which became the floating mountains of Avatar. Changsha's Hunan Museum holds the Mawangdui tomb of Lady Dai, preserved for 2,000 years, and Shaoshan is Mao Zedong's birthplace.

What to see

• Zhangjiajie — the sandstone pillars of Yuanjiajie and Tianzi Mountain, and Tianmen Mountain
• Changsha's Hunan Museum, the Mawangdui galleries
• Yueyang Tower over Dongting Lake, and Qu Yuan's temples at Miluo
• Fenghuang ancient town and the Miao villages of western Hunan
• Shaoshan, and Hengshan, the southern sacred mountain

What to eat

• Hunan cooking — hotter and sourer than Sichuan's; chopped-chilli fish head
• Changsha's black fried stinky tofu and its rice-noodle breakfasts
• Smoked and cured meats, and the region's chilli pastes

How to plan

A week: Changsha two, Zhangjiajie three, Fenghuang two.

Best time

April–June and September–November; Zhangjiajie is best in spring and autumn

Practical tips

• If you do not eat chilli, say so clearly — Hunan kitchens do not moderate by default

Cities 14

长沙市 Changsha株洲市 Zhuzhou湘潭市 Xiangtan衡阳市 Hengyang邵阳市 Shaoyang岳阳市 Yueyang常德市 Changde张家界市 Zhangjiajie益阳市 Yiyang郴州市 Chenzhou永州市 Yongzhou怀化市 Huaihua娄底市 Loudi湘西土家族苗族自治州 Xiangxi