{"id":12101,"date":"2016-04-07T14:00:30","date_gmt":"2016-04-07T18:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/?p=12101"},"modified":"2016-04-06T06:33:00","modified_gmt":"2016-04-06T10:33:00","slug":"better-know-a-province-hunan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/better-know-a-province-hunan\/","title":{"rendered":"Better Know a&#8230; Province (Hunan)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>After exploring <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/better-know-a-province-guizhou\/\">Guizhou<\/a>, we move a bit more inland to visit <strong>Hunan province<\/strong> (\u6e56\u5357\u7701 &#8211; h\u00fa n\u00e1n sh\u011bng):<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/A4zYtbdCDUE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen title=\"Embedded video\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">History<\/h2>\n<p>The area now known as Hunan was long ago home to the ancestors of many ethnic minority groups such as the Miao, Dong, and Yao. In 350 BC, it was the southernmost part of the <strong>State of Chu<\/strong> (\u695a &#8211; Ch\u01d4), ruled by the <strong>Zhou Dynasty<\/strong> (\u5468\u671d &#8211; Zh\u014du ch\u00e1o). When the <strong>Qin<\/strong> (\u79e6 &#8211; Q\u00edn) took over some years later, Hunan formed the central part of the first unified state of China. Covered in forest, the region was still very sparsely populated. This changed during the <strong>Han Dynasty<\/strong> (\u6f22\u671d &#8211; H\u00e0n ch\u00e1o), when a large influx of Han Chinese migrated there and pushed the indigenous peoples into the hills. During the later Mongol and Manchu invasions, even more Han fled here.<\/p>\n<p>Modern Hunan and Hubei were part of a province called <strong>Huguang<\/strong> (\u6e56\u5ee3 &#8211; H\u00fa gu\u01ceng) later on, later splitting in 1664. The current name for the province came in 1723. Hunan became an important scholarly area with the founding of the <strong>Yuelu Academy<\/strong> (<span class=\"s1\">\u5cb3\u9e93\u4e66\u9662<\/span> &#8211; yu\u00e8 l\u00f9 sh\u016b yu\u00e0n). The population continued to grow to the point of overcrowding, which led to quite a few peasant uprisings. When the <strong>Taiping Rebellion<\/strong> (\u592a\u5e73\u5929\u56fd\u8fd0\u52a8 &#8211; t\u00e0i p\u00edng ti\u0101n gu\u00f3 y\u00f9n d\u00f2ng) broke out, it eventually spread from Guangxi into Hunan. It was actually a Hunanese army that marched into Nanjing and stopped it.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_12107\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter post-item__attachment\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2016\/04\/1-DSC_0572.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-12107\" aria-label=\"1 DSC 0572\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12107\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12107\"  alt=\"Mao Zedong statue\" width=\"600\" height=\"402\" \/ src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2016\/04\/1-DSC_0572.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2016\/04\/1-DSC_0572.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2016\/04\/1-DSC_0572-350x235.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-12107\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The most famous Hunanese person.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Uprisings and political unrest would continue in Hunan, including the <strong>Autumn Harvest Uprising<\/strong> (\u79cb\u6536\u8d77\u4e49 &#8211; qi\u016b sh\u014du q\u01d0 y\u00ec) led by Hunan&#8217;s own Mao Zedong. Under pressure from the Nationalist KMT forces, Mao and the Communists began the Long March from the Hunan-Jiangxi border. Hunan was later the sight of bitter fighting during the Sino-Japanese War, with the KMT defending Changsha until it finally fell in 1944. Civil war followed, with Mao&#8217;s Communists eventually winning and founding the People&#8217;s Republic of China. As Mao&#8217;s home, Hunan naturally supported his policies during the Cultural Revolution. It was a bit slow to adopt the opening and reform policies of Deng Xiaoping after Mao&#8217;s passing.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">Geography<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_12115\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter post-item__attachment\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2016\/04\/800px-Hunan_in_China_all_claims_hatched.svg_.png\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-12115\" aria-label=\"800px Hunan In China All Claims Hatched.svg \"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12115\" class=\"wp-image-12115\"  alt=\"Hunan's location in China.\" width=\"600\" height=\"478\" \/ src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2016\/04\/800px-Hunan_in_China_all_claims_hatched.svg_.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2016\/04\/800px-Hunan_in_China_all_claims_hatched.svg_.png 800w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2016\/04\/800px-Hunan_in_China_all_claims_hatched.svg_-350x279.png 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2016\/04\/800px-Hunan_in_China_all_claims_hatched.svg_-768x612.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-12115\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hunan&#8217;s location in China.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The name Hunan literally translates as &#8220;south of the lake,&#8221; as it is in fact located south of <strong>Lake<\/strong> <strong>Dongting<\/strong> (\u6d1e\u5ead\u6e56 &#8211; d\u00f2ng t\u00edng h\u00fa). This is the largest lake in the province and second largest freshwater lake in the country. Hunan is a landlocked province in the South Central part of China, and it shares a border with Hubei, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, and Chongqing. It&#8217;s also located on the south bank of the Yangtze River. It&#8217;s a rather mountainous province, with the Wuling, Xuefeng, Nanling, and Luoxiao mountain ranges. Hunan is divided into fourteen prefecture-level divisions, thirteen prefecture-level cities, and one autonomous prefecture. Its capital city is <strong>Changsha<\/strong> (\u957f\u6c99 &#8211; ch\u00e1ng sh\u0101), located in the northeast on the banks of the Xiang River.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">Climate<\/h2>\n<p>Hunan has a humid, subtropical climate. In general, the northern part of the province experiences more extreme weather than the south &#8211; hotter summers and colder winters. The winter in Hunan is short and cool, while summers are very hot and humid. Most of the monsoon rains fall from April-June, and annual rainfall in the province is around 56 inches (1,420 mm). The best time of the year to visit Hunan is during the fall, when there&#8217;s less rain and it&#8217;s not quite so hot.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">Population<\/h2>\n<p>As of the last count (2006), the population of Hunan was around 67 million. As with most of the country, a vast majority of the people are Han (about 90%). The main minority groups that call Hunan home are the Yao, Mao, Tujia, and Dong. There&#8217;s also a community of Hunanese Uyghurs here, although they&#8217;re quite different from the Uyghurs who live in other areas.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">Culture<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_12110\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter post-item__attachment\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2016\/04\/3-DSC_0575.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-12110\" aria-label=\"3 DSC 0575\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12110\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12110\"  alt=\"Hunanese food\" width=\"600\" height=\"402\" \/ src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2016\/04\/3-DSC_0575.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2016\/04\/3-DSC_0575.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2016\/04\/3-DSC_0575-350x235.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-12110\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Spicy Hunan food.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The type of Chinese spoken across Hunan is called <strong>Xiang<\/strong> (\u6e58\u8a9e &#8211; xi\u0101ng y\u01d4) &#8211; also known as Hunanese &#8211; is a group of similar dialects. If you&#8217;ve ever watched a video of Mao and not exactly understood his Chinese, that&#8217;s probably because of his thick Hunanese accent. As far as religion goes, most people follow Chinese folk religions, Chinese Buddhism, or Taoist traditions. When it comes to food, Hunanese cuisine is known to be particularly spicy, thanks to its liberal use of chili peppers.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">Famous Places<\/h2>\n<p>Hunan is known for its natural beauty, and there&#8217;s no place more famous in the province than <strong>Zhangjiajie<\/strong> (\u5f20\u5bb6\u754c &#8211; zh\u0101ng ji\u0101 ji\u00e8). This national park, full of amazing\u00a0quartz-sandstone rock formations, is said to have been the inspiration for James Cameron in creating the landscape for the movie <em>Avatar<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TmQgunRix4A?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen title=\"Embedded video\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>One of the Five Great Mountains of China can also be found in Hunan &#8211; <strong>Mt. Heng<\/strong>\u00a0(\u8861\u5c71 &#8211; h\u00e9ng sh\u0101n) &#8211; not to be confused with the other Mt. Heng in Shanxi. Of course, Mao Zedong&#8217;s hometown of <strong>Shaoshan<\/strong> (\u97f6\u5c71 &#8211; sh\u00e1o sh\u0101n) is also a popular tourist destination.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Hunan is an important piece of Chinese history, and it&#8217;s also one of the most popular places to visit thanks to its stunning natural landscapes. While it may not be the easiest place to get to, adding this province to your China trip is surely worth it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<img width=\"350\" height=\"235\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2016\/04\/3-DSC_0575-350x235.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image tmp-hide-img\" alt=\"Hunanese food\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2016\/04\/3-DSC_0575-350x235.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2016\/04\/3-DSC_0575.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><p>After exploring Guizhou, we move a bit more inland to visit Hunan province (\u6e56\u5357\u7701 &#8211; h\u00fa n\u00e1n sh\u011bng): History The area now known as Hunan was long ago home to the ancestors of many ethnic minority groups such as the Miao, Dong, and Yao. In 350 BC, it was the southernmost part of the State&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/better-know-a-province-hunan\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":12110,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2006,411464,411472,411463,411462,371324,411470,127316,411461,411473,411466,411469,411467,272821,411465,411468,411471],"class_list":["post-12101","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-china","tag-climate-of-hunan","tag-famous-places-in-hunan","tag-geography-of-hunan","tag-history-of-hunan","tag-hunan","tag-hunan-cuisine","tag-hunan-food","tag-hunan-province","tag-hunan-travel-blog","tag-hunanese","tag-hunanese-cuisine","tag-hunanese-language","tag-mt-heng","tag-population-of-hunan","tag-xiang-chinese","tag-zhangjiajie"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12101"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12101\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12119,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12101\/revisions\/12119"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}