Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The ...

to the north,

Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...

to the east,

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

and Guangxi to the south, Guizhou to the west and Chongqing to the northwest. Its capital and largest city is Changsha, which also abuts the Xiang River.

Hengyang Hengyang (; ) is the second largest city of Hunan Province, China. It straddles the Xiang River about south of the provincial capital of Changsha. As of the 2020 Chinese census, Its total population was 6,645,243 inhabitants, whom 1,290,715 l ...

Zhuzhou Zhuzhou (, ), formerly Jianning (建宁), is a prefecture-level city of Hunan Province, China, straddling the Xiang River southeast of the provincial capital, Changsha, and bordering Jiangxi province to the east. It is part of the " Greater Chan ...

, and Yueyang are among its most populous urban cities. With a population of just over 66 million residing in an area of approximately , it is China's 7th most populous province, the fourth most populous among landlocked provinces, the second most populous in South Central China after Guangdong and the most populous province in Central China. It is the largest province in

South-Central China South Central China, South-Central China or Central-South China ( zh, c = 中南, p = Zhōngnán, l = Central-South), is a region of the People's Republic of China defined by State Council that includes the provinces of Guangdong, Hainan, He ...

and the fourth largest among landlocked provinces and the 10th most extensive province by area. Hunan's

nominal GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a money, monetary Measurement in economics, measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjec ...

was US$ 724 billion (CNY 4.6 trillion) as of 2021, appearing in the world's top 20 largest sub-national economies, with its

GDP (PPP) GDP (PPP) means gross domestic product based on purchasing power parity. This article includes a list of countries by their forecast estimated GDP (PPP). Countries are sorted by GDP (PPP) forecast estimates from financial and statistical ...

being over US$1.1 trillion. Hunan is the 9th-largest provincial economy of China, the fourth largest in South Central China, the third largest in Central China and the fourth largest among landlocked provinces. Its GDP (nominal) per capita exceeded US$10,900 (69,300 CNY), making it the third richest province in the South Central China region after Guangdong and Hubei. As of 2020, Hunan's

GDP (nominal) Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...

reached 605 billion US dollars ( CNY 4.18 trillion), exceeding that of Poland, with a GDP of US$ 596 billion and Thailand, with a GDP of US$ 501 billion, the 22nd and 25th largest in the world respectively. The name ''Hunan'' literally means "south of the lake". The lake that is referred to is Dongting Lake, a lake in the northeast of the province; Vehicle license plates from Hunan are marked (), after the

Xiang River The Xiang River is the chief river of the Dongting Lake, Lake Dongting Drainage basin, drainage system of the middle Yangtze, the largest river in Hunan, Hunan Province, China. It is the 2nd largest tributary (after Min River (Sichuan), Min River ...

, which runs from south to north through Hunan and forms part of the largest drainage system for the province. The area of Hunan was under Chinese rule as far back as 350 BC. Hunan was the birthplace of communist revolutionary Mao Zedong, who became the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party and the

founding father The following list of national founding figures is a record, by country, of people who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e. ...

of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. Hunan today is home to some ethnic minorities, including the Tujia and Miao, along with the Han Chinese, who make up a majority of the population. Varieties of Chinese spoken include Xiang, Gan and Southwestern Mandarin. The site of

Wulingyuan Wulingyuan (, zh, c=武陵源) is a scenic and historical site in the Wulingyuan District of South Central China's Hunan Province. It was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992. It is noted for more than 3,000 quartzite sandstone p ...

was inscribed as a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

in 1992. Changsha, the capital, is located in the eastern part of the province; it is now an important commercial, manufacturing and transportation centre. The busiest airports serve domestic and international flights for Hunan, including

Changsha Huanghua International Airport Changsha Huanghua International Airport is the airport serving Changsha, the capital of Hunan province, China, and the Greater Changsha Metropolitan Region comprising the nearby cities of Zhuzhou and Xiangtan. As of 2021, it was one of the ...

Zhangjiajie Hehua International Airport Zhangjiajie Hehua International Airport () is an airport serving Zhangjiajie, Hunan, People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and ...

and Changde Taohuayuan Airport. Hunan is the seat of the Yuelu Academy (later become

Hunan University Hunan University (HNU; ; pinyin: Húnán Dàxué''),'' colloquially abbreviated as HúDà (湖大), is a national key public research university located in Changsha, Hunan, and a Double First Class University as well as a member of Project 211 ...

), which is one of the four major academies over the last 1000 years in ancient China. As of 2022, Hunan hosts 130 institutions of higher education, ranking sixth among all Chinese provinces.

History

Hunan's primeval forests were first occupied by the ancestors of the modern Miao, Tujia, Dong and

Yao people The Yao people (its majority branch is also known as Mien; ; vi, người Dao) is a government classification for various minorities in China and Vietnam. They are one of the 55 officially recognised ethnic minorities in China and reside in t ...

s. The province entered written Chinese history around 350 BC, when the province became part of the

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by ...

. After Qin conquered the Chu in 278 BC, the region came under the control of Qin, and then the

Changsha Kingdom The Changsha Kingdom was a kingdom within the Han Empire of China, located in present-day Hunan and some surrounding areas. The kingdom was founded when Emperor Gaozu granted the territory to his follower Wu Rui in 203 or 202 BC, around the sa ...

during the Han dynasty. At this time, and for hundreds of years thereafter, the province was a magnet for settlement of Han Chinese from the north, who displaced and assimilated the original indigenous inhabitants, cleared forests and began farming rice in the valleys and plains. The agricultural colonization of the lowlands was carried out in part by the Han people, which managed river dikes to protect farmland from floods. To this day, many of the small villages in Hunan are named after the Han families who settled there. Migration from the north was especially prevalent during the

Eastern Jin dynasty Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

and the Northern and Southern dynasties periods, when nomadic invaders (

Five Barbarians The Five Barbarians, or Wu Hu (), is a Chinese historical exonym for five ancient non- Han peoples who immigrated to northern China in the Eastern Han dynasty, and then overthrew the Western Jin dynasty and established their own kingdoms in th ...

) pushed these peoples south. During the

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (), from 907 to 979, was an era of political upheaval and division in 10th-century Imperial China. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen conc ...

, Hunan was home to its own independent regime,

Ma Chu Chu (), known in historiography as Ma Chu () or Southern Chu (), was a dynastic state of China that existed from 907 to 951. It is listed as one of the Ten Kingdoms during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period of Chinese history. Founding ...

. Hunan and

became a part of the province of Huguang until the Qing dynasty. Hunan province was created in 1664 from Huguang, renamed to its current name in 1723. Hunan became an important communications center due to its position on the

Yangzi River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...

. It was an important centre of scholarly activity and Confucian thought, particularly in the Yuelu Academy in Changsha. It was also on the Imperial Highway constructed between northern and southern China. The land produced grain so abundantly that it fed many parts of China with its surpluses. The population continued to climb until, by the nineteenth century, Hunan became overcrowded and prone to peasant uprisings. Some of the uprisings, such as the ten-year Miao Rebellion of 1795–1806, were caused by ethnic tensions. The Taiping Rebellion began in the south in Guangxi Province in 1850. The rebellion spread into Hunan and then further eastward along the Yangzi River valley. Ultimately, it was a Hunanese army ( Xiang Army) under

Zeng Guofan Zeng Guofan, Marquis Yiyong (; 26 November 1811 – 12 March 1872), birth name Zeng Zicheng, courtesy name Bohan, was a Chinese statesman and military general of the late Qing dynasty. He is best known for raising and organizing the Xiang ...

who marched into Nanjing to put down the uprising in 1864. Type 92 Heavy Machine Gun2

In 1920, a famine raged throughout Hunan and killed an estimated 2 million Hunanese civilians. This sparked the

Autumn Harvest Uprising The Autumn Harvest Uprising was an insurrection that took place in Hunan and Kiangsi (Jiangxi) provinces of China, on September 7, 1927, led by Mao Tse-tung, who established a short-lived Hunan Soviet. After initial success, the uprising was ...

of 1927. It was led by Hunanese native Mao Zedong, and established a short-lived Hunan Soviet in 1927. The Communists maintained a guerrilla army in the mountains along the Hunan-

border until 1934. Under pressure from the Nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) forces, they began the Long March to bases in Shaanxi Province. After the departure of the Communists, the KMT army fought against the Japanese in the

second Sino-Japanese war The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

. They defended Changsha until it fell in 1944. Japan launched

Operation Ichigo Operation Ichi-Go ( ja, 一号作戦, Ichi-gō Sakusen, lit=Operation Number One) was a campaign of a series of major battles between the Imperial Japanese Army forces and the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China, fought from Apri ...

, a plan to control the railroad from Wuchang to

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

( Yuehan Railway). Hunan was relatively unscathed by the civil war that followed the defeat of the Japanese in 1945. In 1949, the Communists returned once more as the Nationalists retreated southward. In the 1950s General Wang Zhen coerced thousands of Hunanese women into sexual servitude at PLA units in Xinjiang. As Mao Zedong's home province, Hunan supported the Cultural Revolution of 1966–1976. However, it was slower than most provinces in adopting the reforms implemented by Deng Xiaoping in the years that followed Mao's death in 1976. In addition to CCP Chairman Mao Zedong, a number of other first-generation communist leaders were also from Hunan: Chinese President Liu Shaoqi; CCP Secretary-generals

Ren Bishi Ren Bishi (; 30 April 1904 – 27 October 1950) was a military and political leader in the early Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In the early 1930s, Ren commanded the Fifth Red Army and was a central figure in the Hunan-Jiangxi Soviet, but ...

and Hu Yaobang; Marshals Peng Dehuai,

He Long He Long (; March 22, 1896 – June 9, 1969) was a Chinese Communist revolutionary and one of the ten marshals of the People's Liberation Army. He was from a poor rural family in Hunan, and his family was not able to provide him with any formal ...

, and Luo Ronghuan; Wang Zhen, one of the

Eight Elders The Eight Great Eminent Officials (), abbreviated as the Eight Elders (), were a group of elderly members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) who held substantial power in the last two decades of the 20th century. In the English-speaking world, t ...

;

Xiang Jingyu Xiang Jingyu (, – , ''née'' Xiang Junxian), was one of the earliest female members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), widely regarded as a pioneer of the women's movement of China. Early life Xiang Jingyu was born in Xupu, Hunan provinc ...

, the first female member of the CCP's central committee; Senior General Huang Kecheng; and veteran diplomat

Lin Boqu Lin Boqu (; Pinyin: ''Lín Bóqú''; Wade-Giles: ''Lin Po-ch'u''; March 20, 1886 – May 29, 1960) was a Chinese politician and poet. An early supporter of Sun Yat-sen and member of the Tongmenghui, as well as a later participant in the Nan ...

. An example of a more recent leader from Hunan is former

Chinese Premier The premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, commonly called the premier of China and sometimes also referred to as the prime minister, is the head of government of China and leader of the State Council. The premier is ...

Zhu Rongji.

Geography

Hunan is located on the south bank of the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...

, about half way along its length, situated between 108° 47'–114° 16' east

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east– west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek lette ...

and 24° 37'–30° 08' north latitude. Hunan covers an area of , making it the 10th largest provincial-level division. The east, south and west sides of the province are surrounded by mountains and hills, such as the

Wuling Mountains The Wuling Mountains () are a mountain range located in Central China, running from Chongqing Municipality and East Guizhou to West Hunan. They are home to many ethnic groups, including as the Tujia, Han, Miao, Dong, and Bai. Wulingyuan T ...

to the northwest, the

Xuefeng Mountains The Xuefeng Mountains () are a mountain range of China in western Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershe ...

to the west, the

Nanling Mountains The Nanling (), also known as the Wuling (), is a major mountain range in Southern China that separates the Pearl River Basin from the Yangtze Valley and serves as the dividing line between south and central subtropical zones. The main rang ...

to the south, and the Luoxiao Mountains to the east. Mountains and hills occupy more than 80% of the province, and plains less than 20%. At 2115.2 meters above sea level, the highest point in Hunan province is Lingfeng (). The Xiang, the Zi, the Yuan and the Lishui Rivers converge on the Yangtze River at

Lake Dongting Dongting Lake () is a large, shallow lake in northeastern Hunan Province, China. It is a flood basin of the Yangtze River, so its volume depends on the season. The provinces of Hubei and Hunan are named after their location relative to the lake ...

in the north of Hunan. The center and northern parts are somewhat low and a U-shaped basin, open in the north and with Lake Dongting as its center. Most of Hunan lies in the basins of four major tributaries of the Yangtze River.

is the largest lake in the province and the second largest freshwater lake of China. The Xiaoxiang area and Lake Dongting figure prominently in Chinese poetry and paintings, particularly during the Song dynasty when they were associated with officials who had been unjustly dismissed. Changsha (which means "long sands") was an active ceramics district during the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...

, its tea bowls, ewers and other products mass-produced and shipped to China's coastal cities for export abroad. An Arab dhow dated to the 830s and today known as the Belitung Shipwreck was discovered off the small island of Belitung, Indonesia with more than 60,000 pieces in its cargo. The salvaged cargo is today housed in nearby Singapore. Hunan's climate is subtropical, and, under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

, is classified as being

humid subtropical A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(Köppen ''Cfa''), with short, cool, damp winters, very hot and humid summers, and plenty of rainfall. January temperatures average while July temperatures average around . Average annual precipitation is . The Furongian Epoch in the Cambrian Period of geological time is named for Hunan; Furong () means " lotus" in Mandarin and refers to Hunan which is known as the "lotus state".

Administrative divisions

Hunan is divided into fourteen prefecture-level divisions: thirteen

prefecture-level cities A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure. During the Republican era, many of China' ...

and an autonomous prefecture: The fourteen prefecture-level divisions of Hunan are subdivided into 122 county-level divisions (35 districts, 17 county-level cities, 63 counties, 7 autonomous counties). Those are in turn divided into 2587 township-level divisions (1098

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

s, 1158 townships, 98

ethnic township The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

s, 225 subdistricts, and eight

district public office The term ''district'', in the context of China, is used to refer to several unrelated political divisions in both ancient and modern China. In the modern context, district (), formally city-governed district, city-controlled district, or mun ...

s). At the year end of 2017, the total population is 68.6 millio

Urban areas

Politics

The politics of Hunan is structured in a dual party-government system like all other governing institutions in mainland China. The

Governor of Hunan The Politics of Hunan Province in the People's Republic of China is structured in a dual party-government system like all other governing institutions in mainland China. The Governor of Hunan is the highest-ranking official in the People's Governme ...

is the highest-ranking official in the People's Government of Hunan. However, in the province's dual party-government governing system, the Governor has less power than the Hunan

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...

Provincial Committee Secretary, colloquially termed the "Hunan CCP Party Chief".

Economy

As of the mid 19th century, Hunan exported rhubarb, musk, honey, tobacco, hemp, and birds. The

area is an important center of

ramie Ramie (pronounced: , ; from Malay ) is a flowering plant in the nettle family Urticaceae, native to eastern Asia. It is a herbaceous perennial growing to tall;

production, and Hunan is also an important center of tea cultivation. Aside from agricultural products, in recent years Hunan has grown to become an important center for steel, machinery and electronics production, especially as China's manufacturing sector moves away from coastal provinces such as

and

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , Chinese postal romanization, also romanized as Chekiang) is an East China, eastern, coastal Provinces of China, province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable citie ...

. The Lengshuijiang area is noted for its

stibnite Stibnite, sometimes called antimonite, is a sulfide mineral with the formula Sb2 S3. This soft grey material crystallizes in an orthorhombic space group. It is the most important source for the metalloid antimony. The name is derived from the ...

mines, and is one of the major centers of antimony extraction in China. Hunan is also well known for a few global makers of construction equipment such as concrete pumps, cranes, etc. These companies include Sany Group, Zoomlion and Sunward. Sany is one of the world's major players. The city of

Liuyang Liuyang () is a county-level city, the List of County-level divisions of Hunan by population, most populous and the easternmost county-level division of Hunan, Hunan Province, China; it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city o ...

is the world's top center for manufacturing fireworks. Hunan is the 9th-largest provincial economy of China, the third largest in the Central China region after Henan and

, the fourth largest in the South Central China region after

, Henan and Hubei and the fourth largest among inland provinces after Henan,

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

and Hubei. As of 2021, Hunan's

was US$ 724 billion (CNY 4.6 trillion), appearing in the world's top 20 largest sub-national economies with its GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) being over US$1.1 trillion, and its GDP (nominal) per capita exceeded US$10,900 (69,300 CNY), making it the 2nd richest in the Central China region after Hubei and the 3rd richest in South Central China region after Guangdong and Hubei. As of 2020, Hunan's GDP (nominal) was US$ 605 billion, making it larger than the economies of Poland (the 22nd biggest in the world), Thailand (the 2nd largest in ASEAN), and Nigeria (the largest in Africa).

Economic and technological development zones

* Changsha National Economic and Technical Development Zone The Changsha National Economic and Technology Development Zone was founded in 1992. It is located east of Changsha. The total planned area is and the current area is . Near the zone is National Highways G319 and G107 as well as Jingzhu Highway. Besides that, it is very close to the downtown and the railway station. The distance between the zone and the airport is . The major industries in the zone include high-tech industry, biology project technology and new material industry. * Changsha National New & Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone * Chenzhou Export Processing Zone Approved by the State Council, Chenzhou Export processing Zone (CEPZ) was established in 2005 and is the only export processing zone in Hunan province. The scheduled production area of CEPZ covers 3km2. The industrial positioning of CEPZ is to concentrate on developing export-oriented hi-tech industries, including electronic information, precision machinery, and new-type materials. The zone has good infrastructure, and the enterprises inside could enjoy the preferential policies of tax-exemption, tax-guarantee and tax-refunding. By the end of the " Eleventh Five-Year Plan", the CEPZ achieved a total export and import volume of over US$1 billion and provided more than 50,000 jobs. It aimed to be one of the first-class export processing zones in China. *

National New & Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone Zhuzhou Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone was founded in 1992. Its total planned area is . It is very close to National Highway G320. The major industries in the zone include biotechnology, food processing and heavy industry. In 2007, the park signed a cooperation contract with Beijing Automobile Industry, one of the largest auto makers in China, which will set up a manufacturing base in Zhuzhou HTP.

Demographics

As of the 2000

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

, the population of Hunan is 64,400,700 consisting of forty-one ethnic groups. Its population grew 6.17% (3,742,700) from its 1990 levels. According to the census, 89.79% (57,540,000) identified themselves as Han Chinese and 10.21% (6,575,300) as minority groups. The minority groups are Tujia, Miao, Dong, Yao, Bai,

Hui The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui2-tsu2, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Хуэйзў, ) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the n ...

, Zhuang, Uyghurs and so on. In Hunan, ethnic minority languages are spoken in the following prefectures. *

Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture (; Tujia: Xianxxix bifzivkar befkar zifzifzoux; Miao: Xangdxid tutjadcul maolcul zibzhibzhoud) is an autonomous prefecture of the People's Republic of China. It is located in northwestern Hunan provin ...

Qo Xiong language The Xong language ( ) is the northernmost Hmongic language, spoken in south-central China by around 0.9 million people. It is called (, "Western Hunan Miao") in Chinese. In Western sources, it has been called Eastern Miao, Meo, Red Miao a ...

Tujia language The Tujia language (Northern Tujia: Bifzivsar, ; Southern Tujia: Mongrzzirhof, ; ) is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken natively by the Tujia people in Hunan Province, China. It is unclassified within the Sino-Tibetan language family, due to pervasi ...

Huaihua Huaihua () is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Hunan province, China. It covers and is bordered by Xiangxi to the northwest, Zhangjiajie and Changde to the north, Yiyang, Loudi and Shaoyang to the east, Guilin and Liuzhou of Guang ...

, Dong language,

Hm Nai language Hm Nai (Mandarin: Wunai (唔奈 ''Wúnài''), Cantonese: Ng-nai) is a Hmong-Mien language (Chinese: ''Miao-Yao'' 苗瑶) spoken in western Hunan province, China. There are approximately 5800 people speaking this language, and the number is decrea ...

, Hmu language * Shaoyang: Maojia language,

Pa-Hng language Pa-Hng (also spelled Pa-Hung; ''Bāhēng yǔ'') is a divergent Hmongic (Miao) language spoken in Guizhou, Guangxi, and Hunan in southern China as well as northern Vietnam. Classification Pa-Hng has long been recognized as divergent. Benedict ...

* Yongzhou: Mien language,

Biao Min language Biao Min, or Biao-Jiao Mien, is a Hmong–Mien language of China. The two varieties, Biao Min and Jiaogong Mian, are evidently not mutually intelligible. Distribution Ethnologue reports the Biao Min language to be spoken in the following counti ...

Chenzhou Chenzhou () is a prefecture-level city located in the south of Hunan province, China, bordering the provinces of Jiangxi to the east and Guangdong to the south. Its administrative area covers , 9.2% of the provincial area, and its total populatio ...

: Dzao Min language

Hunanese Uyghurs

Around 5,000 Uyghurs live around

Taoyuan County Taoyuan County () is under the administration of Changde, Hunan Province, China. The Yuan River, a tributary of the Yangtze, flows through Taoyuan. It covers an area of 4441 square kilometers, of which is arable land. It is from Zhangjiang To ...

and other parts of

Changde Changde ( ) is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of Hunan province, People's Republic of China. In addition to the urban districts, Changde also administers the county-level city of Jinshi and six counties. Changde is adjacent to Dongt ...

and Uyghurs have intermarried in this area. In addition to eating pork, the Uygurs of Changde practice other Han Chinese customs, like

ancestor worship The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of t ...

at graves. Some Uyghurs from

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

visit the Hunan Uyghurs out of curiosity or interest. The Uyghurs of Hunan do not speak the Uyghur language, instead, Chinese is spoken as their native language.

Religion

The predominant religions in Hunan are Chinese Buddhism, Taoist traditions and Chinese folk religions. According to surveys conducted in 2007 and 2009, 20.19% of the population believes and is involved in ancestor veneration, while 0.77% of the population identifies as Christian. The reports didn't give figures for other types of religion; 79.04% of the population may be either irreligious or involved in worship of nature deities, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, folk religious sects. In 2010, there are 118.799 Muslims in Hunan File:Puguang chansi 0152.jpg, Puguang Buddhist Temple in

Zhangjiajie Zhangjiajie (), also known in Tujia language as ''Zhangx jif avlar'' /dzaŋ˩ ji˥ a˩.la˥/, is a prefecture-level city in the northwestern part of Hunan Province, China. It comprises the district of Yongding, Wulingyuan and counties of Cili ...

. File:Confucius Temple of Liuyang 01.jpg,

Temple of Confucius A temple of Confucius or Confucian temple is a temple for the veneration of Confucius and the sages and philosophers of Confucianism in Chinese folk religion and other East Asian religions. They were formerly the site of the administration of ...

. File:Hunan traditional temple front.jpg, An ancestral shrine in the province.

Notable people

(1811–1872) *

Cai E Cai E (; 18 December 1882 – 8 November 1916) was a Chinese revolutionary leader and general. He was born Cai Genyin () in Shaoyang, Hunan, and his courtesy name was Songpo (). Cai eventually became an influential warlord in Yunnan ( Yu ...

(1882–1916), Chinese revolutionary leader, General and Governor of

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the C ...

(1911-1913) * Jiang Xiaowan (?–1922), interpreter * Mao Zedong (1893–1976) *

Ma Ying-jeou Ma Ying-jeou ( zh, 馬英九, born 13 July 1950) is a Hong Kong-born Taiwanese politician who served as president of the Republic of China from 2008 to 2016. Previously, he served as justice minister from 1993 to 1996 and mayor of Taipei fro ...

(born 1950) * Yuet-ching Lee (1918–1997), Hong Kong actress * Ted Hui (born 1982), Hong Kong politician

Culture

Hunan's culture industry generated 87 billion yuan (US$11.76 billion) in economic value in 2007, and is major contributor to the province's economic growth. The industry accounts for 7.5 percent of the region's GDP.

Language

Xiang Chinese () is the eponymous variety of Chinese spoken in Hunan. There are several varieties of Xiang Chinese, such as

New Xiang New Xiang, also known as Chang-Yi (长益片 / 長益片) is the dominant form of Xiang Chinese. It is spoken in northeastern areas of Hunan, China adjacent to areas where Southwestern Mandarin and Gan are spoken. Under their influence, it has lo ...

, Old Xiang, and Hengzhou Xiang. In addition to Xiang Chinese, there are also other dialects and languages present, such as Southwestern Mandarin, Hakka, Waxiang, and Xiangnan Tuhua. Nü shu, a writing system for Xiangnan Tuhua, is used exclusively among women in

Jiangyong County Jiangyong County () is a county of Hunan Province, China, it is under the administration of Yongzhou prefecture-level City. Located on the south margin of the province, it is bordered on the west by Guangxi. The county is bordered to the northea ...

and neighboring areas in southern Hunan. 辣椒酱

Cuisine

Hunanese cuisine is noted for its near-ubiquitous use of

chili pepper Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...

s, garlic, and

shallot The shallot is a botanical variety (a cultivar) of the onion. Until 2010, the (French red) shallot was classified as a separate species, ''Allium ascalonicum''. The taxon was synonymized with '' Allium cepa'' (the common onion) in 2010, as the ...

s. These ingredients give rise to a distinctive dry-and-spicy () taste, with dishes such as smoked cured ham, and stir-fried spicy beef being prime examples of the flavor.

Music

Huaguxi The flower-drum opera or Huaguxi () is a form of Chinese opera originating in Hunan province. Some other provinces, such as Hubei, Anhui, Henan, Shanxi, also have Huaguxi. It is known in China for its earthy quality, and is often referred to as t ...

is a local form of Chinese opera that is very popular in Hunan province.

Tourism

Located in the south central part of the Chinese mainland, Hunan has long been known for its natural environment. It is surrounded by mountains on the east, west, and south, and by the Yangtze River on the north. For thousands of years, the region has been a major center of agriculture, growing rice, tea, and oranges. China's first all glass suspension bridge was also opened in Hunan, in Shiniuzhai National Geological Park. *

is a

and a 5A Scenic Area. Located in south-central Hunan, Wulingyuan is noted for its thousands of quartzite

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

pillars, caves, and waterfalls. The area also contains

Zhangjiajie National Forest Park Zhangjiajie National Forest Park () is a national forest park located in Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province, China. It is one of several national parks within the Wulingyuan Scenic Area. History In 1982, the park was recognized as China's first na ...

. * Shaoshan County, known for being the birthplace of Mao Zedong * Yueyang Tower, on the shores of

, was built in the Han and Jin dynasties, and has existed in its current state since the Qing Dynasty. Alongside the Pavilion of Prince Teng and

Yellow Crane Tower Yellow Crane Tower () is a traditional Chinese tower located in Wuhan. The current structure was built in 1981, but the tower has existed in various forms from as early as AD 223. The current Yellow Crane Tower is high and covers an area of . ...

, it is one of the Three Great Towers of Jiangnan. * Mount Heng, in

, is one of the Five Great Mountains of China, and is home to the largest temple in southern China. *

Fenghuang County Fenghuang County (), named after the mythological birds ''Fenghuang'', is a county of Hunan Province, China, under the administration of Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture. Located on the western margin of the province and the southern Xiangxi, it i ...

, in Xiangxi Prefecture, has been placed on the

World Heritage Tentative List for its ancient town. Fenghuang is known for its incorporation of mountain features and water flow into city design, and the ancient syncretism between the local Han and Miao cultures.

Education and research

As of 2022, Hunan hosts 130 institutions of higher education, ranking sixth together with

(130) among all Chinese provinces after Jiangsu (168),

(160), Henan (156), Shandong (153), and

(134). Hunan is also the seat of 12 adult higher education institutions. Two major cities in Hunan (Changsha and

Xiangtan Xiangtan () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Hunan province, south-central China. The hometowns of several founding leaders of the Chinese Communist Party, including Chairman Mao Zedong, President Liu Shaoqi, and Marshal Peng Dehuai, a ...

) were ranked in the top 500 cities in the world by scientific research output, as tracked by the Nature Index in 2017. There are three

national key universities National Key Universities () previously referred to universities recognized as prestigious and which received a high level of support from the central government of the People's Republic of China. The term is no longer in official use by 1990s. Th ...

under

Project 985 Project 985 () was a terminated project that was first announced by General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Jiang Zemin at the 100th anniversary of Peking University on May 4, 1998, to promote the development and reputation of the C ...

(

, Central South University and the National University of Defense Technology) in Hunan, the third highest after Beijing and Shanghai.

Hunan Normal University Hunan Normal University (), founded in 1938, is a public university in Changsha, Hunan Province. The university is the 211 Project university, one of the country's 100 national key universities in the 21st century that enjoy priority in obtain ...

in Changsha is the key construction university of the national

211 Project Project 211 () was an abolished project of developing comprehensive universities and colleges initiated in 1995 by the Ministry of Education of China, with the intent of raising the research standards of comprehensive universities and cultiva ...

, and

Xiangtan University Xiangtan University (XTU; ) is a national key university located in Xiangtan, Hunan, China. It was founded in 1958 and is currently organized into 23 schools and departments. As of 2022, the Best Chinese Universities Ranking, also known as the " ...

is a key university jointly built by Hunan Province and the Ministry of Education and a member of national Project 111. These five national key universities are included in the Double First-Class Universities of Hunan Province. Hunan University and Central South University are the only two universities in Changsha, Hunan to appear in the world's top 300 of the '' Academic Ranking of World Universities and the U.S. News & World Report Best Global University Ranking''. Hunan Normal University, the National University of Defense and Technology and Changsha University of Science and Technology located in Changsha, were ranked in the world's top 701 of the '' Academic Ranking of World Universities''.

Hunan Agricultural University Hunan Agricultural University (, commonly referred to as HAU or Nongda) is a public research university located in Changsha, Hunan, China. Founded in 1951, the university was incorporated by two independent colleges under the name Hunan Agricult ...

in Changsha and Hunan University of Technology in

were ranked in the top 901 globally of the 2022 '' Academic Ranking of World Universities.''

Hunan University of Science and Technology Hunan University of Science & Technology (HNUST) () is an institution of higher learning in Xiangtan, Hunan of China, under the jointly jurisdiction of central government and provincial government, and is mainly administered by Hunan Province. HN ...

in Xiangtan,

and

Central South University of Forestry and Technology Central South University of Forestry and Technology (CSUFT; ) is a university located in Changsha, Hunan, China. The university covers a total area of 2,230 mu, with more than 101.3 square meters of floor space. As of fall 2013, the universit ...

in Changsha were ranked # 988, # 1024 and # 1429 respectively in the 2022 Best Global Universities by ''the U.S. News & World Report Best Global University Ranking.''

Hunan University of Chinese Medicine Hunan University of Chinese Medicine () is a public university located in Changsha, Hunan province, China. The university offers courses in Traditional Chinese Medicine. As of 2022, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine is ranked the best in Hun ...

in Changsha ranked the best in Hunan and 33rd nationwide among Chinese Medical Universities.

National key public universities

* Central South University (Project 211, Project 985, Double First Class University) *

(Project 211, Project 985, Double First Class University) *

(Project 211, Double First Class University) * National University of Defense Technology (Project 211, Project 985, Double First Class University) *

(Project 111, Double First Class University)

Provincial key public universities

* Changsha University of Science and Technology *

Hengyang Normal University Hengyang Normal University () is a university located in Hengyang, Hunan, China. As of 2022, the Best Chinese Universities Ranking placed the university 15th in Hunan. History Hengyang Normal University was formed in 1904, it was initially calle ...

* Hunan First Normal University * Hunan Institute of Science and Technology *

Hunan Institute of Engineering Hunan Institute of Engineering (HIE) () is located in Xiangtan, Hunan, China. It was founded in 1951 and is organized into 16 schools and departments. As of 2021, Hunan Institute of Engineering was ranked 371st in China and 768th globally by SCIm ...

* Hunan University of Technology and Commerce *

* Hunan University of Technology *

Hunan University of Humanities, Science and Technology Hunan University of Humanities, Science and Technology (HUHST; ), established in 1978, is a state-owned provincial university of higher education approved by the Chinese Ministry of Education. It is located in Loudi, a newly built city in the cen ...

Jishou University Jishou University (; sometimes abbreviated as JSU) is a university located in Jishou, Hunan, China. The university consists of 23 colleges, with 71 specialties for undergraduates, 2 specialties for the second bachelor's degree. At present, the un ...

University of South China The University of South China () is a university in city Hengyang, Hunan, China. As of 2022, the Best Chinese Universities Ranking, also known as the "Shanghai Ranking", placed the university the best in Hengyang and 8th in Hunan. History ...

* Shaoyang University

General undergraduate universities (public)

* Changsha Normal University *

Changsha University Changsha University (CCSU; ) is located in Changsha, Hunan, central south of China. Changsha University, or Changsha college, is authorized by the Ministry of Education May 2004. Reconstruction and update based on Changsha University status (speci ...

* Hunan University of Finance and Economics *

Hunan Police Academy Hunan Police Academy () is a university located in Changsha, Hunan, China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populou ...

* Hunan Women's University *

Hunan Institute of Technology Hunan Institute of Technology () is a university located in Hengyang, Hunan, China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most ...

* Hunan University of Science and Engineering * Xiangtan Institute of Technology

General undergraduate universities (private)

Changsha Medical University Changsha Medical University/College (CSMU, ) is the first private medical undergraduate institution in China, located in Changsha, Hunan Province, China. Changsha Medical University/College, China's governmental medical university for undergraduat ...

Hunan International Economics University Hunan International Economics University () is a private university located in Yuelu District, Changsha, Hunan, China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of cou ...

* Hunan Institute of Information Technology * Hunan Institute of Traffic Engineering * Hunan Applied Technology University

Vocational and technical colleges/universities

Changsha Aeronautical Vocational and Technical College Changsha Aeronautical Vocational and Technical College () is a university located in Changsha, Hunan, China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and depend ...

* Changsha Social Work College * Hunan Software Vocational College

Transport

Airports

There are several airports in Hunan provinces, including

, Changde Taohuayuan Airport, Chenzhou Beihu Airport, Huaihua Zhijiang Airport,

Shaoyang Wugang Airport Shaoyang Wugang Airport is an airport serving the city of Shaoyang in Hunan Province, China. It is located north of Wugang, a county-level city under the administration of Shaoyang, and from the urban center of Shaoyang. The airport receive ...

, Yongzhou Lingling Airport, and Yueyang Sanhe Airport. The busiest airports serve domestic and international flights for Hunan, including Changsha Huanghua International Airport, Zhangjiajie Hehua International Airport and Changde Taohuayuan Airport. Notably, as of 2021, Changsha Huanghua International Airport was one of the 50 busiest airports in the world, the 12th busiest civil airport in China, the second busiest in South Central China after Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and the busiest in Central China.

Railways

The

Beijing–Guangzhou high-speed railway The Beijing–Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong high-speed railway or Jingguangshengang high-speed railway from its Chinese name is a high-speed railway corridor of the CRH passenger service, connecting Beijingxi station in Beijing and West Ko ...

passes through Hunan.

Sports

Yiyang Stadium, Hunan, China 2012-04-14 10

Professional sports teams in Hunan include: * Chinese Football Association League One ** Hunan Billows F.C.

Notes

References

External links

*
Hunan Government website
*

at HKTDC
History of Hunanese
, the first book on the history of Hunanese(Phoelanese) civilization and nation from the perspective of we the hunanese (phoelanese) people. {{Authority control . Provinces of the People's Republic of China