About Changsha
Changsha is the capital city of Hunan Province. The recorded history of Changsha can be traced back to 3000 years ago. Tomb relics from the primitive periods witnessing the earliest human of activities have been discovered in this region.
Area:Hunan covers 210,000 square kilometers (81,000 square miles)
Population:Hunan has a total population of 64,400,700
Climate: Low temperatures in winter are usually above freezing, with daily highs around 10C. Annual rainfall is around 1,250 - 1,750 millimeters (49.2 to 68.9 inches). Northern Hunan has more climate extremes than southern Hunan. It can get colder in the winter and hotter in the summer.
Scenery Spots in Changsha
Mt. Yuelu
Mt. Yuelu, which means the foot of Mt. Hengshan (Southern Mountain), is located on the west bank of Xiangjiang River and lies in the west of Changsha City. It's a highly reputable scenic area in Hunan Province, an area that enables you to have a much clearer understanding of Changsha City once you have paid a visit to Mt. Yuelu. Mt. Yuelu is noted for its picturesque scenery. The towering trees that provide dense shade emerge through heavily planted foliage around the mountains and provide an instant sense of refreshment and vitality to the environment. The full-blown azaleas in spring, the tranquility and coolness in summer, the flamboyant maple leaves in autumn and the silver-colored trees covered with snow and frost in winter make it a delightful spot all year round.
Mawangdui Han Tombs
Located in the eastern suburb of Changsha City, the world famous Mawangdui Han Tombs is one of the most fascinating attractions in Hunan Province. It is no exaggeration to say that the Mawangdui Han Tombs is an open book to the glorious West Han Dynasty (206BC-24). All three tombs were excavated between 1972 and 1974. According to the research this place was a family graveyard from at least two thousand years ago. The tombs are very grand and complicated as well. Number 1 and Number 3 tombs were in excellent condition when excavated and Number 1 tomb is the largest among the three. Number 1 and Number 2 tombs have been in filled. Number 3 tomb has been preserved and covered by a ceiling for the benefit of the visitor.
Local Food
Three-Boxed Birds (San Ceng Tao Ji)
This name may seem a little strange and doesn't tell the story clearly. It was said that in 1920s, an official's wife had a stubborn headache and a doctor suggested that she buy a sparrow, a pigeon and a black-bone hen as ingredients for a Chinese herbal medicine soup. The doctor first put the small sparrow into the pigeon and then put the pigeon into the black-bone hen, hence the name three-boxed birds. Then the boxed birds were steamed with herbs for a long time and the finished dish comprised both the soup and meat for eating. The story doesn't say whether the lady's headache was cured or not. However, the dish became popular in the country.
Non-Yolk Eggs with Mushroom (Huagu Wu Danhuang)
No one will be surprised by a plate of eggs with a mushroom soup. However, when you try it, you will find the tender eggs have no yolk inside and the delicious soup will melt in your mouth.The chef makes a tiny hole in the bottom of the eggshells and removes the eggs. Then the egg white with a prepared chicken soup and salt are put back into the shells again and cooked. The most delicate of these will have a smooth cover and tender taste.
How to get to Central South University
Airport transport
Airport shuttle buses ply the main roads between the airport and the city center and a single trip takes about one hour. You can take the shuttles from the front of the Civil Aviation Hotel (Minhang Jiudian) at No. 75, Wuyi Dong Lu at 10 Yuan per person. The first bus leaves at 6:30 a.m. and the last one serves the final flight arrival each day. The fare is 10 - 15 Yuan. An alternative is to take Bus 114 from the railway station to the airport between 6:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. The single trip takes around one hour.
A taxi ride from the airport to the city center takes 100-120 Yuan.
By train
As an important hub of the national Jingguang Railway (Beijing-Guangzhou), Changsha benefits from rail connections to almost every major city in China. The railway station is located in the east end of the city at Chezhan Lu. Bus 108, 110, 113 from the city center will take you there.
The trip from Changsha to Beijing, Shanghai, Guiyang and Kunming takes about 16 hours while journeys to Guangzhou and Shenzhen take about eight to ten hours. A trip to the scenic city of Zhangjiajie lasts about five hours.
By road
Changsha is the hub of three inter-province freeways including Freeway 107 (Beijing–Shenzhen), Freeway 391 (Chengdu–Xiamen) and Freeway 106. A well developed highway network connects Changsha with many major Chinese cities and buses leaving from the three Long Distance Passenger Bus Stations in Changsha serve most of the eastern part of the country. Although it is impossible to list all the destinations that can be reached from the three passenger stations; we have listed a selection of the main and most popular ones for reference.