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Changsha (literally Long Sand), surrounded by fertile lands and bisected by the slow flowing waters the the Xiang River, is Hunan province's capital. Populated by some six million souls, Changsha is a lively town well known for its food culture, military tradition and being one of Mao Zedong's haunts prior to launching his political career.
The city is likely to attract two kinds of people, those interested in tracing the origins and journeys of Chairman Mao, and those interested in joining in the "renao" (literally hot and noise—two things the Chinese associate with having a good time) that sweeps over the city during the night time hours.
Hunan cuisine is infamous for being some of the spiciest in the land and is perhaps second only to Sichuan on China's spice-o-meter. Something to bear in mind if you're sampling street-side barbecue or noodles.
History
Changsha has an exceptionally long and no less brutal history. By 200 BC, Changsha was a fairly densly populated, fortified city. Its value as a strategic location has long been recognised by the powers that be. It was instrumental in Qin Shihuang's unification of China. At one point in the distant past before Emperor Qin's intervention, Changsha was a country unto itself.
Resident of nearby Shaoshan, Mao Zedong, spent several years in town attending school and later became principal of the very school he had attended—a position he would hold for 2 years while launching his political career. Between 1939 and 1942 Chinese Nationalists repelled 3 separate invasions by the Japanese, before finally being overcome in 1944. On this final successful attempt, it would take in excess of 350,000 Japanese troops with air support to conquer the city.
Climate
Changsha belongs to a climate that is almost subtropical, with long, hot and humid summers—most days will see the hygrometer pushed well above the 80% mark. June through August is the rainy season. Annual average temperature is 17.5º C (63.5º F), with an annual average rainfall of 1,387 mm (54.6 in.), and an annual average frost free period of 280 days.
Autumn is probably the best time to visit Changsha, when temperatures hit between 15 to 20º C (68º F). In spring the weather in Changsha tends to change very rapidly, so it is worth bringing more clothing with you. In the coldest days of winter, Changsha averages around 5º C (41º F).
 Bean Curd with Odor
The best bean curd with odor is at Huogongdian Restaurant, which has a history of one hundred years. In 1958, Chairman Mao had bean curd with odor in Honggongdian Restaurant when he visited Changsha City.
Bean curd with odor in Huogongdian Restaurant is made of Liuyang fermented soybeans and bittern, which was made of winter bamboo shoot, dried mushroom and koji wine. The fried bean curd of odor is crispy outside and tender inside. It is so delicious to eat with capsicum oil, castor oil and sauce.
Changsha Maren Crispy Duck
Changsha Maren Crispy Duck is the masterpiece of Shi Yinxiang, the famous chef in Changsha. Fry the fat duck and pour oil onto the skin until the color become golden. Add some pepper power, sesame oil and cut to pieces. Put to the plate and decorate with head, wings, duck webs and caraway.
 Deyuan Steamed Bun
Deyuan Steamed Bun has thin skin and big stuffing. The sweet stuffing is made of candy, rose candy or sweet-scented osmanthus candy. The meat stuffing is made of pork, dried mushroom and jelly oil.
Deyuan was built during Guangxu Period of Qing Dynasty. It got its name from "where there is morality; where there is happiness, there is endurance" from the ancient book "The Spring and Autumn with commentary". Originally, it was a small shop run by a couple. After several times of change of owners, there was no great success.
In the beginning of the Republic of China, several unemployed official chefs bough Deyuan and moved it to the crossing of Fangxi Lane, Huangxinglu, offering the customers the dishes of feudal official. There were always some leftover of seafood and fresh foods, so they chopped these food and made the stuffing for bun. To their surprise, the bun with such stuffing was quite popular. From then on, Deyuan steamed bun became famous.
After "Wenxi Fire" accident, some of the original chefs rebuilt the restaurant and named it Deyuan Teahouse. Gradually, it is well-known in Changsha for its "Eight Baozi", which are Rose and Sugar, Dried Mushroom and Pork, Sugar and Salt Vegetable, Crystal Sugar, Sesame, Shrimp and Pork, Seashell and Pork, and Barbecued Pork Baozi.
Liu Defang Tangyuan (Dumpling in Soup)
Liu Defang Tangyuan is a famous snack of Changsha City. It is sold in Liu Defang Tangyuan Restaurant only, which was established in Daoguang Period (1812-1850) of Qing Dynasty.
Liu Defang, nicknamed Liu San, was born in a poor family and sold tangyuan to make a living. Due to the good material and nice taste, his tangyuan was very famous. In 1852, Liu Defang went to buy flour and found that there was a sycee in the flour. So he went to buy six bags of flours and got another six sycees. With the silver, he bought a restaurant to run tangyuan. For the nice taste of its tangyuan, the restaurant has been very popular.
Kouwei Shrimp
Lobster is kind of big shrimp with crust propagating crazily in the lakes. With pepper, aniseed, fennel, garlic, gingers and other seasonings, stir-fry it with wine and cook it until done. It look red and quite delicious. It is so hot, but one cannot help eating it again and again.
There are some other nice dishes, such as: Beef Tripe and Bamboo Shoot Slices, Mushroom in Egg without Yolk, Spicy Little Chicken, Chicken, Dove and Sparrow, Spicy Saizi (deep-fried dough twist), Yang Yuxing Noodle, Sisters'Tuanzi (Dumpling).
Changsha had convenient transportation even in ancient times. There were more than one hundred watercourses including Xiang River and Dongting Lake. Nowadays, there are national highway 107, 319 and 106, as well as several other speedways; through Zhuzhou, Beijing-Guangzhou railway connects Zhejiang- Jiangxi railway in the east and Hunan – Guizhou railway in the west; the provincial railway Shimen – Changsha connects Yidu (Hubei) – Liuzhou (Guangxi) railway; Huanghua Airport is an international airport and has several international flight courses; the watercourses are very convenient also.
By Air
Huanghua International Airport is 24.2 kilometers east to the center of Chengsha City, near Huanghua Town of Changsha County. It is the biggest airport with the most complete establishment in Hunan Province.
From Huanghua Airport, there are non-stop flights to 53 cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Kunming and Chongqing.
There are special buses from the downtown to the airport, stops: Civil Aviation Hotel (No 75, Wuyidonglu) during 6:30 AM to the last flight. One can also take public bus No 114 from railway station to Huanghua Airport. running time: 6:30 am to 16:30. One way: 65 minutes.
Railway
Changsha is the transportation hub of China. Through Zhuzhou, Beijing-Guangzhou railway connects Zhejiang- Jiangxi railway in the east and Hunan – Guizhou railway in the west; the provincial railway Shimen – Changsha connects Yidu (Hubei) – Liuzhou (Guangxi) railway.
The railway station is located at Dongzhanlu of downtown. It could be reached by many public buses such as 108, 110, 111 and 113. Changsha railway station is an important big modern station at Beijing – Guangzhou Railway, with different waiting halls for express trains and normal trains as well as honored guest waiting room. Everyday, there are nearly one hundred passenger trains departing or passing Changsha, reaching all the big and moderate cities of China.
City Transportation
Of the downtown, there are perfect public transportation system, covering all the city zones and outskirts. At the time when this article were written, the price is RMB 1 for common public bus and RMB 2 for air-conditioning one.
Highway
Changsha is at the converging point between central and south China and Southwest China.
The 107 national highway from Beijing to Shenzhen, 319 national highway from Xiamen to Chengdu all pass Changsha.
There are three long distance bus stations: East Station, West Station and South Station, of which the East and West Bus Stations are of more use to travelers.
From East Bus Station, there are mainly coaches to Hefei, Nanchang, Xiamen, Nanjing and Shanghai.
From South Bus Station, there are mainly coaches to Guilin, and other cities, towns within the Province.
Taxi
At day time, the flag-fall price of taxi in Changsha is RMB 3 for 1 kilometer, additional charge within 3 kilometers: RMB 4 for 1 to 1.5 kilometers, RMB 5 for 1.5 to 2 kilometers, RMB 6 for 2 to 2.5 kilometers, and RMB 7 for 2.5 to 3 kilometers. Over three kilometers, RMB 1.8 is charged for each kilometer.
At nighttime (21:00 – 05:00 am), the charge is: within 3 kilometers, adds RMB 1 on the base of day time charge; over 3 kilometers, RMB 2.16 for each kilometer.
It is charged every 500 meters. If the passenger requires the taxi stop and wait midway, RMB 1.8 / each 5 minutes during daytime or RMB 2.16 during nighttime.
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