Hunan (湖南) is a province in central China, home of Mao Zedong.
Different dialects exist in Hunan which date back thousands of years.
The Changsha dialect forms a dialect continuum that encompasses Changsha, Xiangtan, Zhuzhou and Yueyang. And these are believe to belong to the New Xiang Languages. Old Xiang or archaic Xiang is spoken in rural and mountainous areas like Shaoyang and Loudi.
The local dialects in the western part of Hunan are generally known as southwestern Mandarin, and it's similar to the ones spoken around Sichuan and Chongqing. Few can understand English. Standard Mandarin can be understood by most although in the countryside and smaller cities most people may only be able to reply in their local dialect. There are some unique terms in the various regional dialects in Hunan; however, the most noticeable differences are in the local pronunciation, which differs widely from standard Mandarin.
Domestic Airports are located in Changsha (IATA: CSX), Changde Taohuayuan Airport (IATA: CGD), Huaihua (IATA: HJJ), Hengyang Nanyue (IATA: HNY) and Zhangjiajie (IATA: DYG).
Railroads criss cross the province connecting major cities, with lines going off to other cities like Wuhan
Starting from December 2016, a new high-speed intercity railway has been running between the provincial capital Changsha, Xiangtan and Zhuzhou, with the intention of creating one single megalopolis. These trains start with C.
High Speed trains also reaches major destinations (except for zhangjiajie!) like Huaihua, Hengyang, Yongzhou, Chenzhou, Yueyang, Xiangtan, Zhuzhou and several others !
Changsha to Zhangjiajie generally takes 5 hours by normal train, although the K9031 takes 10 hours !
Probably the best attraction in Hunan is the fabulous Wulingyuan mountain, a stunning sandstone karst landscape. Several cable cars shorten distances, and there are many hiking opportunities. The China Danxia landscape near Langshan are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Try Hunan's spicy food, one of the eight cuisines in China, renowned for its spicy taste and flavor.