Huaihua City, aslo called Wuxi in ancient times, is directly under the jurisdiction of provincial government of Hunan.Huaihua is located in southwest Hunan Province.Huaihua is flanked by Guizhou province on the west, and it is bordered by Chongqing City on the north ,Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous region on the south.As Huaihua is strategically located, it has been an important gateway to the west part of China since ancient times. It is "the Dong Culture Tourism Zone of China",with Dong culture tours in the lead, and the tours of scenic spots and historic sites and the forest resorts as the important contents.
Location: Situated in the southwest region of Hunan Province, Huaihua City is bordered by Guangxi Region in the south and Guizhou Province in the west. Within the province, it is near Shaoyang, Loudi, Yiyang, Changde, Zhangjiajie, and Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture.
Physical Features: The city lies between the Xuefeng Mountains and Wuling Mountains, with mountainous areas making up a large part of Huaihua. Mountains are found mainly in the east and west, and the central region consists of ravines, plains and hills. The Yuanshui River flows through the region from south to north. Huaihua is a veritable green city, with a total of forest coverage of 67.2%. China has 128.63 million hectares of forest cover. Huaihua has 30,000,000 acres of mountains and 45,000,000 cubic meters of forest storage, which is a quarter of total forest storage of Hunan.
Administrative Division:With a total area of 27,600 square kilometers, Huaihua has a Population of 5,000,000 which among of them are Dong, Tujia, Miao, Han nationalities. Huaihua City is a prefecture level city which has 1 district (Hecheng); 5 counties (Yuanling, Chenxi, Xupu, Zhongfang, Huitong); 5 autonomous counties (Mayang Miao Autonomous County, Xinhuang Dong Autonomous County, Zhijiang Dong Autonomous County, Jingzhou Miao and Dong Autonomous County, Tongdao Dong Autonomous County); 1 county-level city (Hongjiang)
History: It was in the late Spring and Autumn Period (770BC-476BC) that the Chu State expanded its domain southward to Hunan and administrative organizations began to be formally established in this area. During the Warring State period (476BC-221BC), Qianzhong Shire was set up here, and the territory of present Huaihua City is essentially the same as in that period.
Climate: The area has a subtropical, humid, monsoon climate featuring rich rainfall and moderate weather all the year around. The annual average temperature falls round 16.8℃ (62.2℉).
Special Local Products: Huaihua is home to many kinds of fruit as well as medicinal plants. Oranges, grapefruits, waxberries and jujubes are just some of the fruits produced here. There are 1,785 kinds of medicinal plants. The output of Fuling (poris cocos) makes up half the nation’s total and the output of rhizome gastrodiae (= tall gastrodia tuber 天麻)ranks first in Hunan province. If you travel to Huaihua, you can buy engraved candied fruit of Jingzhou, brocade of Dong ethnic minority in Tongdao, mint crisp cake of Zhijiang, candy oranges of Qianyang, Jietan Tea of Yuanling.
Huaihua ranks first in Hunan province in terms of its hydro-electric resources. Proved hydro-energy storage is 3,3,460,00 kilowatts in Huaihua. Besides the 1,200,000- kilowatt hydro-electrical station built in Yuanling, the northernmost county of Huaihua, we have more than 500 small hydro-electrical stations, where the installed gross capacity is 300,000 kilowatts.
Transportation: Now with its complete network of transportation, Huaihuai has become a connecting area of these neighboring provinces.The construction of railway lines gave rise to the making of the booming city of Huaihua. In Oct. 1970, the construction of Hunan to Guizhou and Zhicheng to Liuzhou railway lines began. In 1972 and in 1978 the two railway lines were completed respectively. Railway lines have contributed a lot to Huaihua’s prosperity. On Dec. 19 2005, Zhijiang airport was open to navigation (or: air traffic). There is air service between Zhijiang and many other cities now. On Nov.11, 2007, Shaoyang to Huaihua and Huaihua to Xinhuang express ways were open to traffic, which will surely add to Huaihua’s convenience of transportation. With highways No. 209, 319 and 320 built years ago, Huaihua now boasts a complete network of transportation. It is widely accepted that Huaihua is now a city with easy access to any part of China. Based on its network of transportation and its strategic location, Huaihua people’s government is planning to build Huaihua into a regional economical center as well as a center of interflow of commodities.
Tourism : There are many natural and cultural tourist attractions in Huaihua. The most recommended tourist attractions are: Zhijang, the peace culture city, where there are the Flying Tiger’s Memorial, the Dong-style Roofed Bridge, Peace Park and the largest Macao Temple in hinterland, Qaincheng, an ancient town in hinterland, Hongjiang, an ancient business city, where we can see the well-preserved architectural complex, Jingping, an ancient village newly developed for tourism purpose and many other attractions.
Welcome to Huaihua while you visit Hunan, China!