China Travel Info/Cities and Attractions/Changsha |
Changsha |
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| Capital of Hunan Province in south central China, Changsha is at the center of a rich agricultural region amid the Hunan plains and bordering the Xiang River. The site has a 3,000-year history of occupation, and was an important center of the southern Chu State culture in the Warring States period (5th-3rd c. BC). The lacquerware and silk textiles recovered from a Western Han (2nd century BC) tomb at Changsha are an indication of the richness of local craft traditions. In 1904 Changsha was opened to foreign trade, and large numbers of Europeans and Americans settled there. Mao Zedong was born in nearby Shaoshan, and he studied and taught at Changsha. Today Changsha is an important commercial center and river port, with abundant light industrial production |