Experience the best of Changsha

Changsha stands on the Xiang River in Hunan Province, with Yuelu Mountain rising on the western bank. Orange Isle, a long island in the river, is laid out as a park with a giant stone sculpture of the young Mao Zedong's head. Yuelu Academy, founded in the tenth century, is one of the oldest centres of learning in China and sits at the foot of the mountain.

The Hunan Provincial Museum shows finds from the Mawangdui tombs, which date from the Western Han dynasty and include silk garments, lacquerware and the well-preserved body of a noblewoman. Tianxin Pavilion is a restored tower on a stretch of old city wall. Shaoshan, Mao's birthplace, lies in the countryside to the south-west, and the Zhangjiajie sandstone pillars are in the north-west of the province.

Hunan cooking is fiery, built on fresh and pickled chillies: chopped-chilli fish head, red-braised pork and the black fermented stinky tofu sold at street stalls are local favourites. The summer heat is heavy and wet, the winters are damp and cold, and the mildest weeks come in late spring and autumn.