A city looks like a mans head

I am from HuNan

A city gets famous for being the birth place of the Chairman Mao

One of the places that trourist definitely will visit is Maos family house, where he spent most of his youth. Which now also been seem as a symbol of Hunan.

And then there is YueLu ShuYuan, a Millennium academy, where Mao studied and converted to communism. You can use different perspective to find distinct view, like look though a window to add decorative frame to the sense.

Besides the YueLu ShuYuan is the Aiwan Pavilion, with its name referencing on the Tang Dynasty poet Du Mus poem. People also believes here is where Mao did his reading at his college time.

But Hunan is not just about Mao. It first appered in the written history of China around 350 BC. But according to archaeological finds, 40 millions years ago in the Paleolithic, there were possibly human activities inside this area. It has a long long history.

40 millions years has passed

Now a day most part of the Hunan province are being modernize. But still we have no undergrounds.

So as you can guess, people here always surrounded by the traffic congestion

Fortunately we still have Fenghuang County, the city of Phoenix, a place still keeping most of the traditions. Stits houses, old fasion boats, and witchcraft to name a few.

It is a peaceful little city with beautiful views.

But recent years, as numbers of tourist have over grown, many stilts houses were reconstructed into hotel by the goverment -the irresistible process of urbanization.

Here in Hunan we celebrate a lot, and many of the celebrations are link to food culture.

This is HuanXing street in Changsha. where I shop the most. But what I like here are not just the big shopping malls.

Near those shopping malls lies an old valley called Pozi Street, a valley full of delicious food with cheap prices. You just simply grab a seat here after shoping, then you can get yourself some delicacy.

You get dishes like stinky Tofu, spicy lobster, spicy duck neck, chili fish head and so on here, and they are all very spicy!

People in Hunan will not forget wine for their feast of course, home made rice wine are on almost every familys dinner table. Snake wine is another tradition, people put a treated snake with their home made rice wine and keep container away from sun light for several years until they drink it. They believe it is good for their health.

Besides Pozi Street there is a beautiful centuries-old well. There are tales say that many years ago a brave warrrior fright down a blackhearted dragon, and sealed it inside the well. Even in the day time, the water in the well are still black as the night.

Hunan Provincial Museum is the place let people get know about the tales and history in Hunan, it is famous for being designed to look like the big tomb people kept inside.

The Bandits clothing is the one I like the most in their collections. The patterns on it represents the three levels of the world. Heaven on the top, mens wolrd in the middle, below are the hell. A metaphor of the circle of live and death.

So they got together, read the book (use NUSHU script) and learned the XIANG embroidery. Nushu (female script) is another intersting part in Hunans triditional culture. It originated from Jiangyong, Where women at that time are not allow to go to school and learn how to write. But in order to record their suffering, they create an embroidery base on weaving technique.

I love this place

..and I just hope there can be less modern downtown..

..but maybe more of this...