Natural Resources

Water resources

Hunan has an extensive network of rivers, with a fresh water area covering 13,500 square kilometers. In the north lies Dongting Lake, the second largest freshwater lake in China. It has the largest reserve of natural water resources among the nine provinces of southern China. Xiangjiang, Zijiang, Yuanjiang and Lishui Rivers are the four main tributaries of Yangtze River flowing through Hunan, falling into Dongting Lake at Chenglingji, Yueyang.

The Hunan Provincial Department of Water Resources released a water resources bulletin in June 2025, covering the quantity and development of water resources in Hunan. 

Hunan's total water resources in 2024 were 23.2 percent more than the multi-year average, while total water consumption declined 3.3 percent compared to 2023. These demonstrate significant progress in Hunan's water resources development and utilization. 

In 2024, Hunan's average precipitation stood at 1,642.1 millimeters, 13 percent more than the multi-year average. Total water resources reached 208.8 billion cubic meters, 23.2 percent more than the multi-year average. Total water consumption amounted to 29.871 billion cubic meters, decreasing 3.3 percent over the previous year. Agricultural sector remained the largest water consumer, with water consumption at 19.346 billion cubic meters. Surface water supply played a crucial role, amounting to 28.694 billion cubic meters. 

Significant progress has been made in water resources development and utilization. In 2024, per capita water consumption was 456.82 cubic meters, while the water consumption per 10,000 CNY of GDP and that per 10,000 CNY of industrial value added dropped eight percent and 18.8 percent to 56.12 cubic meters and 28.44 cubic meters respectively. 

Land resources

Cultivated land, forests and grasslands are distributed widely across Hunan. Cultivated land covers 3.788 million ha., accounting for 3.1% of the total of China; natural grasslands are 6.373 million ha., about 1.6% of the national’s total; forests cover 10.3699 million ha., about 6.6% of the country’s total. All these benefit Hunan for its agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fisheries.

Forestry Resources 

Mineral resources

New Energy Resources 

During the 13th Five-year Plan period (2016-2020), Hunan’s new energy-based installed capacity increased by 10 Gw, about 4 times more than that in the end of 2015. The capacity based on wind, solar, and biomass power exceeded 6 Gw, 3 Gw, and 0.8Gw respectively, up 3.4, 9, and 1.4 times. In 2020, Hunan’s new energy-based generating capacity was nearly 17 TWh. Among this, the capacity based on wind, solar, and biomass power hit 10 TWh, 3 TWh, and 3.9 TWh respectively. Wind power has become Hunan’s third largest power source.

Plants

Hunan has abundant resources of animals and plants. Five rare surviving "living fossil" in the world are found in Hunan, namely: Cathaya Aargyrophylla, Met sequoia Glyptostrobodies, Glyptostrobus Pensilis, Gingko and Davidia Involucrate.

There are around 5,000 species of seed plants, ranking 7th across the country. There are more than 2,000 species of woody plants, 1,000 species of wild economic plants, and 800 species of medicinal plants. 55 species are identified as rare wild plants under the state protection, making up 17.7% of that throughout the country.

Reputed as a land of rice and fish, Hunan has a wide variety of grain crops, with over 9,000 categories of rice. Oil crops include tea oil camellia, seed of tung tree, rapeseed, sesame, sunflower, cottonseed and castor-oil plant. Economic crops are mainly cotton, ramie, jute (red jute) and tobacco. In addition, there are 100 varieties of medicinal plants like coptisroot and gastrodia elata, and 88 species of eight categories of agricultural and sideline products including citrus, tea, Hunan white lotus, day lily, water-soaked bamboo slice, lily bulb, pearl barley and chili pepper. (Click to know more Hunan Products)

Animals

Hunan has a great variety of animals. There are 66 kinds of wild mammals, over 500 sorts of birds, 71 kinds of reptiles, 40 types of amphibians, more than 1,000 sorts of insects and over 200 kinds of aquatic animals.

There are 18 categories of animals under the first-class state protection, like south China tiger, clouded leopard, golden cat, whitecrane and white-flag dolphin; 28 sorts of animals included in the second-class such as macaque, stump-tailed macaque, pangolin, hellbender and cowfish, and; 49 types of animals belonging to the third-class including egret, wild duck and bamboo partridge. As the well-known freshwater fish producing area in China, Hunan has over 160 types of natural fish, including carp, blackcarp, grass carp, bighead carp, silver carp, bream fish, crucian carp, gurnet, which mainly belong to the cyprinidae family. Famous species are Chinese sturgeon, Chinese paddlefish, silverfish, hilsa herring and eel. Regarding livestock and poultry, Ningxiang pig, Binhu buffalo, Xiangxi cattle, Xiangdong black goat, Wugang bronze goose, Linwu duck and Liuyang three buff chickens are the most well-known.

Hunan boasts rich bird resources, with 523 species recorded around the province. The East Asian - Australasian Flyway (EAAF) passes through Hunan, making it an important province in central China for migratory birds and their wintering. Four of the nine major flyways around the world pass through China, encompassing three routes within Hunan, along Xuefeng Mountain, Luoxiao Mountain, and Nanling Mountain ranges respectively.

Biodiversity Conservation

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) added the Zhangjiajie Giant Salamander National Nature Reserve to its Green List in 2025. The Zhangjiajie Giant Salamander National Nature Reserve is China's first and the largest national nature reserve dedicated to protecting giant salamanders. In recent years, the population of wild giant salamanders of the main protected species has reached 13,800. Five giant salamander species of genetically pure lines have been conserved, including the Chinese Giant Salamander and South China Giant Salamander. In the reserve, biodiversity has been continuously enhanced, leading to a significant increase in its fish, bird, and amphibian species. New species have been recorded, such as the Zhangjiajie light-lip fish (acrossocheilus fasciatus), Hunan pterocryptis anomala, golden bush robin, and Sichuan bamboo pit viper. 

The Jiangkou Bird Island Provincial Nature Reserve in Hengnan County, Hengyang, has carried out habitat restoration and intelligent monitoring, becoming an important stopover for migratory birds with a total bird population exceeding 100,000. The Hengling Lake Provincial Nature Reserve in Xiangyin County, Yueyang, has implemented a tiered wetland restoration approach, recording 43,234 migratory birds in 2025. The Badagong Mountain National Nature Reserve in Sangzhi County, Zhangjiajie, recognized by IUCN as one of the World's Best Protected Areas, is home to 7,727 species of wild flora and fauna and hailed as a "natural museum."

In terms of rare species protection, the Jicheng Milu Deer Provincial Nature Reserve in Yueyang has seen its Milu deer population increase from 2 initially to 46, with an annual growth rate of 68.6%, making it the fastest-growing area in the Yangtze River Basin. The Huangsang National Nature Reserve in Suining County, Shaoyang, rolled out six targeted protection measures for 37 Nothotsuga longibracteata trees, successfully cultivating over 1,000 seedlings. Based on a decade-long systematic survey, the Gaowangjie National Nature Reserve in Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture has recorded 49 species of nationally protected wild plants and seven species of national first-class protected animals.

The Bamianshan National Nature Reserve in Guidong County, Chenzhou, is home to China's largest number of cathaya argyrophylla trees.

In recent years, Hunan has coordinated high-quality development, high-level protection, and high-efficient governance, striving to build a solid ecological security barrier encompassing "one river (the Hunan section of the Yangtze River), one lake (the Dongting Lake), the three mountains (Wuling-Xuefeng Mountain Range, Nanling Mountain Range, and Luoxiao-Mufu Mountain Range), and the four waters (Xiangjiang, Zijiang, Yuanjiang, and Lishui rivers)," to achieve significant results in advancing biodiversity conservation. As of May 2026, the province's forest coverage rate has reached 54.18%, and its overall grassland vegetation coverage stands at 87%. A total of 1,068 species of vertebrates and 6,292 species of vascular plants have been recorded, including 192 species of nationally protected wild animals and 156 species of nationally protected wild plants. 

Chinese sources: hunan.gov.cn; Chinanews