World Natural Heritage World Geopark The First National Forest Park of China
Changsha City is Situated in the river valley along the lower reaches of the Xiang River, Changsha is the capital city of Hunan Province. The recorded history of Changsha can be traced back 3,000 years. Tomb relics from the primitive periods witnessing the earliest human activities have been discovered in this region. During the Spring and Autumn Period (770 B.C. - 476 B.C.), the area developed into an important town within the State of Chu, (one of the seven warring states that existed before China's unification by Emperor Qin). After Emperor Qin (the first feudal emperor in China's history) unified the country, the town was set up as a county and later became the capital city of a state in the early Han Dynasty (206 B.C. - 220). The tomb excavation site of Mawangdui found in the eastern suburb of the city is a family graveyard from that period. The most fantastic historical relic should be the well-preserved mummified remains of a Western Han Dynasty woman excavated from the tombs. Some of thousands of relics unearthed include silk products, paintings, lacquer works, potteries, bamboo slips used for writing, weapons and herbs, all of which are exhibited in Hunan Provincial Museum.
In the dynasties that followed, the city experienced several expansions and during China's Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), it has developed into the political, economic and cultural center of Hunan Province.
