Hunan

Hunan Province is a fantastic travel destination. Rich in minority culture, charming villages and beautiful countryside Hunan has a lot to offer. The provincial capital, Changsha, is not without its charm, and one of the best night markets in China is found here. However Hunans attractiveness as a tourist destination lies in the natural scenery and villages of Western Hunan in the region known as Xiangxi.

Xiangxi Region borders both Guangxi and Guizhou and is a fantastic area of endless rice fields, lush mountains and a wealth of minority villages that sees very few visitors. The regional center and transport hub, Huaihua Town, is pleasant and with an interesting old town, but does not warrant a stay. About an hour away you will find Dehang Miao Village, a traditional minority village that is beginning to develop for large-scale tourism. The village itself is mildly interesting, and the real draw here is the hike to nearby Sand Waterfall where you get away from modern civilization and step into rural China. The hike is easy and takes about two hours return, taking you through beautiful rice fields to the waterfall. Fenghuang Ancient Town, in English sometimes known as Phoenix Ancient Town, is a couple of hours' drive from Huaihua. Fenghuang is beautiful, and although the impact of tourism becomes more and more evident in Fenghuang it is still a very pleasant place to visit. The old part of town lies on the banks of the Tuojiang River, with the classic wooden houses of southern Hunan lining the cobbled streets. Fenghuang is also home to a good night market that spings to life at dusk near the Rainbow Bridge. The bridge spans the river and provides excellent views of both sides of the river.

Tongdao Town and surroundings are the real gem of Hunan. Here you will find a hilly terrain studded with small villages, rivers and rice fields. Tongdao itself is quite attractive with a good night market and a nice promenade by the river. Just a few kilometers outside Tongdao is Huangdu, famous as 'the capital of the Dong'. The village itself does not quite compare with other, more remote villages, but is nestled beautifully at the bend of a river. You need to cross the impressive Wind-and-Rain Bridge to enter the village. Near Huangdu, hidden away in a valley off the main road, is the incredibly charming village of Yutou, a traditional Dong village where life is still led very much according to traditions. The villages has three Drum Towers where the village elders sit during the day and discuss village matters while the younger people tend the fields. Yutou is wonderfully laid back and it is easy to spend an entire afternoon here just inhaling the charm of the place. Also near Tongdao the Ten Thousand Buddha Mountain offer great views of the hilly countryside. It is said that this mountain was the birthplace of the Dong. Going east from Tongdao you will reach the towns of Xinning, Suining and Chengbu, all local centers with a myriad of minority villages all around, notably Tangcun near Chengbu, which is hard to get to but offer stunning views of the local rice terraces. On the main road north of Tongdao you will pass through the township of Xianxi, where a small Red March Museum commemorates the meetings that took place here in 1934 as the Red Army passed through.

Zhangjiajie National Park in the north part of Hunan is a beautiful landscape of steep mountains and rock formations that look almost outerworldly, and were indeed the inspiration for the movie Avatar. Depending on the depth of your interest you can see all the major viewpoints in a day, or spend weeks in here exploring every path.

Shaoshan, not far from Changsha, was the birthplace of Mao, and is worth a visit to see his former home, visit the Water Dripping Cave where important meetings were held in the early 1960s, and also the large Mao Statue nearby. Chinese tourists flock to Shaoshan to see the former leader's humble beginning.