Introduction-Changde

Located in the northwestern part of Hunan Province and in the lower reaches of Dongting Lake, Changde connects Mount Xuefeng and Mount Wuling. Changde is known as a city in Taohuayuan (Peach Blossom Spring), which was depicted vividly by TaoYuanming (365AD-427AD), a great poet in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. In his prose "Peach Blossom Spring", a spring in the northwestern part of Changde, Tao described a fairy spring with enchanting natural scenery and a land where people lived a simple and peaceful life. The spring is now a famous scenic spot in Hunan Province.

Besides The Peach Blossom Land Scenic Area, Changde also boasts more than 300 places of tourism interest. The Chengtoushan Site in Lixian County has a history of 8,000 years. Jiashan Temple at Shimen is a 1,000-year-old Buddhist center which is believed to be the origin of the Japanese tea ceremony. Next to the temple is the tomb of Monk Fentianyu which is proved by scholars about the Ming Dynasty as the tomb of Li Zicheng, a leader of a peasant uprising and after his failure to overthrow Ming Dynasty, Li lived a secluded life as a monk. In Changde city there is a 2,500-meter-long wall of poems which sets a record as the world's longest tablet inscribed with poems. Not far away from Changde are the UN Natural Wetland Protection Zone of west Dongting Lake and the Mount Huping National Nature Reserve. As a charming tourist resort, Changde has various kinds of natural landscapes and splendid views of beautiful mountains and rivers.