5 Days in Zhuzhou

Zhuzhou sits at the Xiangjiang's elbow, a quarter of an hour south of Changsha by HSR. Walk the Shennong City park's column plaza and statue, then see the city museum's bronzes and lacquer finds before an early night.

1. zhuzhou shennong city park
2. zhuzhou city museum

About 200 km south in Yanling County (renamed from Lingxian in 1994), the tomb-temple complex of Yandi stands at Luyuanbei by the Mishui river. Rebuilt in the late 1980s and rated 5A in 2020, it holds the memorial ceremony listed in China's first national intangible-heritage batch in 2006; the county also holds Hunan's highest summit, Lingfeng at 2,115.2 m. Overnight in Yanling's county town.

1. zhuzhou yandi mausoleum

About 45 km east of the county town, the national forest park chains waterfalls — Pearl-Curtain Falls among them — through old-growth valley air, with wooden walkways keeping the walking easy. Overnight near the valley gate or back in town.

1. zhuzhou shennonggu forest park

Back west about 40 km, Liling fires the underglaze five-color porcelain that won gold at the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition; the Ceramic Valley's vase-shaped halls house the trade today, and the hillside Lujiang Academy, where Zuo Zongtang once taught, sits on the western hills.

1. zhuzhou cigu ceramic valley
2. zhuzhou lujiang academy

The Fantawild park opened in 2011 and fills a day of rides and shows in the city's Yunlong district; afterwards the HSR from Zhuzhou West covers Changsha South in about 15 minutes.

1. zhuzhou fantawild