Beihu District 北湖区

Setting and landscape

Chenzhou lies where Hunan meets Jiangxi and Guangdong, in the middle section of the Nanling Mountains (南岭). In Yangtianhu Yao Township lies the Yangtianhu Grassland (仰天湖大草原), an upland meadow of about 40 square kilometres at an average altitude of 1,314 metres. Hunan's 2023 list of rural leisure-tourism routes, as carried on China Daily's Chinese website, describes it as the southernmost alpine grassland in China, with grass that stays green for up to nine months and an average summer temperature of 20°C.

History

The character for Chen (郴) is used only for this city; it combines the elements for "forest" and "settlement" and means "the city in the forest". It first appears in the Qin dynasty, when Li Si (李斯) adopted it and set up Chen County. Xiang Yu (项羽) is recorded as having banished Emperor Yi of Chu (义帝) to Chen, and the Mausoleum of Emperor Yi (义帝陵), together with its stele, is a Hunan provincial protected site in Beihu.

What to see

Several other provincial protected sites lie in the district. The Wanhuayan cliff inscriptions (万华岩摩崖石刻群) span the Southern Song to the Republican era, and the Tanshanyan stone inscription (坦山岩劝农记事碑刻) is a Southern Song carved record of an exhortation to farming. The Chenzhou section of the old Hunan–Guangdong road (湘粤古道), a Ming and Qing route shared with Suxian District (苏仙区), was listed in 2011; the listing takes in Xiniu Well (犀牛井), old bridges, rock inscriptions and old streets.

In Lutang Town (鲁塘镇), the former residence of General Deng Hua (邓华故居) is a provincial protected site, and the Deng clan hall (邓氏宗祠) was added to the listing. Xiaobu Old Village (小埠古村) in Baohe Yao Township is on the national list of Chinese traditional villages.

Getting oriented

High-speed trains on the Beijing–Guangzhou line stop at Chenzhou West Station (郴州西站), and the conventional Beijing–Guangzhou railway serves Chenzhou Station (郴州站). Chinese Wikipedia lists Wuling Square (五岭广场) in the district as the largest city square in central-south China.

Highlights

• Yangtianhu Grassland 仰天湖大草原: Upland meadow of about 40 km² at an average altitude of 1,314 m, described in Hunan's 2023 rural-tourism route list as the southernmost alpine grassland in China.
• Mausoleum of Emperor Yi 义帝陵: Hunan provincial protected site, with its stele, linked to Xiang Yu banishing Emperor Yi of Chu to Chen.
• Wanhuayan cliff inscriptions 万华岩摩崖石刻群: Provincial protected group of carved inscriptions dating from the Southern Song to the Republican era.
• Former residence of Deng Hua 邓华故居: Provincial protected site in Lutang Town, with the Deng clan hall added to the listing.
• Xiaobu Old Village 小埠古村: Village in Baohe Yao Township on the national list of Chinese traditional villages.