Sharing borders with six other provinces in south central China, Hunan has long been known for its exceptional natural beauty and searing, chili-laden cooking.
Photogenic terraced fields, river valleys, mountains, and jutting sandstone karst formations attract legions of tourists, with Heng Shan heading the bill. Heng Shan, also known as Nanyue Shan, is one of China's holiest mountain ranges, and is not to be confused with Shanxi's sacred mountain of the same name. Revered by Taoists and Buddhists alike, Heng Shan is also beloved by hikers, rewarding a little effort on the trail with fresh air, temple-studded slopes and mist-shrouded summits. Those ambitious enough can ascend to Wishing Harmony Peak or explore Grand Southern Heights Temple.
Other big Hunan draws are the Wulingyuan Scenic Reserve and Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, an awe-inspiring UNESCO world heritage site, home to rare plant and animal species and a stunning landscape of karst towers, primeval greenery and clear-running streams.
Hunan is rich with historical treasures as well. Many trek to Fenghuang, to see the surviving portions of the Southern Great Wall, built in 1554 to defend against the Miao. Here you'll encounter Miao and Tujia peoples, reputed to be the last descendants of the mysterious, prehistoric Ba kingdom. Look for their colorful cultural festivals during the second week of September.
More recent times come alive in Shaoshan, Chairman Mao Zedong's birthplace. Still a popular political pilgrimage site for Chinese travelers, it's also of interest to any visitors wishing for a deeper understanding of China. Much is made of Mao's early work organizing peasants to help them overcome famine, while other far more controversial chapters of his career are conspicuously absent. The nearby provincial capital, Changsha, is also home to much "Maomorabilia," including the Helmsman's school and the original offices of the Hunan Communist Party.
Changsha is also a great place to dig into Hunan's signature chili-laden dishes, which rival Sichuan's on the spice-o-meter. Mao once famously claimed that Hunan's fiery fare is what made locals so politically red, and Hunanese fury is something many an invader has regretted provoking, from the British to the Jurchen.
With mountains to the east, west and south, Hunan historically served as a refuge for Han escaping the ravages of the periodic warfare that defined the Jin and Northern Song (960–1279) dynasties. In addition to its lush plains and hills, Hunan is blessed with excellent soil and irrigation, the province full of rice paddies, tea plantations and orchards. In fact, Hunan's crops are so plentiful that for most of its history, the province served as southern China's breadbasket, its surpluses exported to fuel growth in neighboring lands.
Hunan's central location made it an important transport and communications hub. Regular surpluses of grain fed other parts of China, but also attracted increasing numbers of peasants and settlers until, finally, Hunan became overcrowded and politically unstable in the nineteenth century—a situation that would give rise to revolutionaries as the Qing Dynasty fell and the factious Republic struggled to unite a China riven by internal conflict and under assault from an expansionist Japan.
In 1927, Mao Zedong capitalized on this instability, leading the Communist Autumn Harvest Uprising and establishing the short-lived Hunan Soviet. Mao, along with his guerrilla army, took shelter in the mountains along the Hunan-Jiangxi border, only to be driven even further west on the epic Long March by advancing Kuomintang forces.
As Mao's home province, Hunan supported many policies of the Cultural Revolution, and was slower to adopt Deng Xiaoping's reforms. However, leaders from the revolutionary days have given way to new a new generation. With the economy steadily opening up, Hunan's people on the whole enjoy increasing prosperity and opportunity, though the gap between prosperous urban China and a much poorer countryside continues to cause tension.
Hunan has a humid, subtropical climate. Monsoon rains fall in April, May, and June, while July and August are uncomfortably hot and humid. The best time to visit is in the fall, when temperatures are cooler and the rainfall lighter. Low temperatures in winter are usually above freezing, with daily highs around 10ºC.