Yongzhou

Yongzhou (永州) is a prefecture-level city in Hunan province, known as Lingling (零陵) and Xiaoxiang (潇湘), in the south of Hunan province, bordering Guangdong further south and Guangxi to the southwest.

Understand
Yongzhou sits on the southern bank of the Xiang River, the same river that flows through Changsha and Xiangtan. The prefecture encompasses an area known as Xiangnan (湘南) that is worth a visit, with lush green mountains with caves, waterfalls, beautiful rivers with swimming opportunities and ancient towns with unique literary culture and history.

The most notable feature of Yongzhou might be the Nüshu script, a local script understood only by women in Jiangyong County.

History
Yongzhou has a long history, with origins dating back to around 201 BC, and was once part of the state of Chu. During the Three Kingdoms, Tang and Song dynasties, Yongzhou played an important role as a cultural and economic center. It continued to maintain its geographic and cultural importance during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and its modern history has seen many political and social changes. In modern history, Yongzhou experienced important events such as the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the Xinhai Revolution. Nowadays, Yongzhou is famous for its landscapes, customs and rich historical relics, attracting tourists and researchers.

Geographic location
Yongzhou is connected to Chenzhou City in the east, Qingyuan City in Guangdong Province and Hezhou City in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in the south, Guilin City in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in the west, and Hengyang City and Shaoyang City in the north. The Xiangjiang River crosses the Zuqi Basin from west to east, and the Xiaoshui River runs through the whole area from south to north.

Talk
Yongzhou dialect, also known as Xiang Yongzhou dialect, is a dialect spoken in Yongzhou City and its surrounding areas in Hunan Province. The Yongzhou dialect belongs to the Xiang branch of the Chinese language and is somewhat different from the Xiang dialects spoken in other parts of Hunan.

Climate
Yongzhou has a mid-subtropical continental monsoon humid climate with four distinct seasons. The average annual temperature is between 17.6-18.6℃, the frost-free period is 286-311 days, and the extreme minimum temperature is between -4.9 and -8.4℃. The number of snowfall days is 3-7, and the number of hours of sunshine is 1300-1740. Precipitation is between 1200-1900 mm, more in the mountainous areas than in the flat areas, and more in the south than in the north.

Get in
Trains north to Changsha are frequent and cheap. Fast trains are available as well. If coming from the north, just go south to Guangxi and you are near to Guilin, where you have all the fantastic karst formation with hiking and climbing opportunities.

By car
When you drive your own private car or rent a car to Yongzhou from neighboring cities, you can conveniently enjoy the scenery along the way. In Yongzhou, most attractions offer free parking, which makes your trip convenient. Please note that parking at shopping malls costs approximately 10 RMB per hour, so you will need to take this cost into consideration when visiting attractions or shopping. Driving to Yongzhou not only gives you more flexibility in organizing your trip, but also allows you to experience this region in depth.

Get around
Getting around Yongzhou involves several transportation options.


 * Public Transportation: Yongzhou has a well-developed public transportation system, including buses and taxis. Buses are a common and affordable means of getting around the city.

See
The city's urban area doesn't have much to offer, but there are a few attractions in Lingling District, 20 km south of the CBD.



Most of Yongzhou's major attractions, including the Nüshu script, are located in the rural counties in the region.


 * Jiangyong County (江永县) Visit the old villages dotted throughout, which housed women that once developed a unique literary tradition with the Nüshu script, a phonetic script based on Chinese logograms only understood by them.
 * Jianghua Yao Autonomous County (江华瑶族自治县)

Do
Walk along the Xiang river.

Buy
Yongzhou is a city with many shopping venues with a wide range of brands to choose from.Prices are listed in no particular order and discounts are often available.



Eat
Food here resembles that found in Guangxi. As in the rest of Hunan, people here enjoy fen (粉, a noodle made of rice), which comes with different ingredients. This particular fen is different throughout the province, and it is fun trying out the varieties. The ones here have somewhat of a Guangxi style. Hunanese people love spicy food, so if you cannot handle that, make sure to ask the eatery to use less chili.

Specialty foods
Yongzhou has many local specialties and you can experience the rich and authentic local culture of the city.


 * Dongan Chicken(东安鸡):Dong'an Chicken is a specialty of Dong'an County, Yongzhou City, Hunan Province, and is listed as a National Geographical Indication Product of China. It is known for its tender and flavorful chicken meat and is one of the local delicacies, reflecting the unique ingredients and culinary traditions of Dong'an County.
 * Drinking snails(永州喝螺):Drinking snails is a local traditional food in Yongzhou that has been around for 2,000 years. (It is recorded in the county records of Yongzhou also known as Ziling County.) Drinking snails are processed and cooked with iron snails, which have the characteristics of crispness and tenderness, fresh soup and beautiful taste, with a strong local flavor.
 * Foreign Snake Wine(永州异蛇酒):It is made of different snakes of Yongzhou specialties, with a variety of valuable Chinese herbs and aged grain wine, and refined by using modern technology and raw dipping live snakes. The wine can dispel wind and dampness, soothe tendons and activate bones. It is one of the good specialties.

Go next

 * Changsha:The capital of Hunan Province, with its historical heritage, culinary culture and natural landscape, where you can experience a lot of historical culture and traditional cuisine.
 * Guilin:There are karst formations near Guilin with opportunities for climbing and hiking.
 * Hengyang: It takes only two hours by train to Hengyang, where you can visit the Buddhist pilgrimage site of Hengshan.