3-Day Trip to Changsha
D1: 2020-09-12
08:05-10:40 Guangzhou South → Changsha South
11:00-11:30 Changsha South → Wanjiali Hotel (Metro Line 2, Exit 2, 5 stops: Wanjiali Square Station, 3 yuan, 0.5H)
11:30-12:00 Check in hotel
12:00-14:00 Lunch (Wanjiali Square - 7F: Da Wan Xian Sheng)
14:00-17:00 Hotel → Orange Island (Line 2: 8 stops: Qinglian Station, 3 yuan)
17:30-21:00 Orange Island → Wuyi Square (1 stop, 2 yuan)
21:00 Evening: Hotel 28F night view
D2: 2020-09-13
Morning: Hotel → Yuelu Mountain (Line 2, 11 stops: Yingwan Town, 3 yuan)
Yuelu Mountain East Gate walk → Yuelu Academy
Afternoon: Yuelu Academy → Changsha Bamboo Slips Museum (Hunan University Metro Station Line 4, 4 stops to Huangtuling, transfer to Line 1, 3 stops to Nanmenkou Station Exit 2, 3 yuan)
Afternoon & Evening: Gaozheng Street, Taiping Old Street, Pozi Street, Huangxing Square
D3: 2020-09-14
Morning: Hotel 11F World Cultural Grand View Garden, 28F daytime view
Noon: Check out, lunch (7F: Chui Yan ~ recommended)
Afternoon: Hotel B1 supermarket buy local specialties
16:00-17:00 Hotel → Changsha South (Line 2, 5 stops, 3 yuan)
17:11-19:55 Changsha South → Guangzhou South
Due to the pandemic, all original trips in 2020 were canceled. In September, we took a spontaneous trip ~ 3 days in Changsha (2 people)
We booked the Wanjiali International Hotel, only 5 metro stops from Changsha South High-Speed Rail Station. It offers great value for money. Some online say it's a seven-star hotel with five-star rates (actually not even five-star rates), and transportation is convenient. It's easy to reach popular spots like Orange Island, Wuyi Square, Yuelu Mountain, and Yuelu Academy.
The 11th floor of the hotel is like a magnificent grand garden, recreating the millennium cultural spectacle: the World Cultural Grand View Garden and the World Celebrity Wax Museum, covering over 20,000 square meters, divided into a 360-meter artistic outer corridor, a 500-meter cultural inner corridor, and a one-kilometer themed cultural exhibition hall. The 28th floor has the world's largest aerial helipad - the Pangu Fuyuan Airport, which can simultaneously park 118 helicopters, with 8 takeoff and landing points. At the four corners of the helipad, there are eight bronze murals cast from hundreds of millions of pure copper: Tathagata Buddha, Chang'e Flying to the Moon, Jade Emperor, Journey to the West, Fuxi, Nüwa, etc.
The magnificent hotel lobby is on the 26th floor, and downstairs is the Wanjiali Station of Metro Lines 2 and 5. Many restaurants on B1 and B2 are good. It's convenient for travel, being right above the metro station, and there are also attractions inside. Floors 1 to 8 are a shopping center, including a food street, supermarket (where you can buy souvenirs), and related entertainment facilities, a children's playground, and a cinema. Service is very attentive. The 28th floor is resplendent and magnificent with the hotel's night view & helicopter pad.
Ticket: Free. Need to scan the QR code to follow the official account to enter. There is a small train available. Walking the entire loop is over 10,000 steps. Orange Island is located in the Xiangjiang River in Yuelu District, Changsha City, surrounded by mountains on three sides and facing water on one side. Thousands of species of plants and vines grow on Orange Island, including 143 precious plants. There are thousands of orange trees, as well as economic forests of plum, chestnut, tea, loquat, peach, pear, and apricot, along with wild fruits like hawthorn, kiwi, golden cherry, wild grape, and mountain begonia.
Wuyi Square area (Taiping Street, Huangxing Road Pedestrian Street, Pozi Street, Jiefang West)
Huangxing Road Pedestrian Street is one of the busiest areas in Changsha. It is a pedestrian commercial street completed in 2002. Starting from Simenkou in Furong District in the north to Nanmenkou in the south, it is 838 meters long and 23-26 meters wide, including nearly 10,000 square meters of Huangxing Square. The total commercial area is 250,000 square meters, with 150,000 square meters newly built, and a total investment of 1 billion RMB. It is a comprehensive venue integrating shopping, leisure, entertainment, dining, culture, and tourism.
The pedestrian street is divided into an inner street and an outer street, and the inner street has three floors. There are many shops with complete brands. Besides various regular clothing and accessory stores, it also gathers snacks and delicacies from all over the country. The nearby Pozi Street is a gathering place for Changsha's specialty snacks, with well-known names like Huogongdian, Shuangyanlou, Hongmei Cold Drinks, etc., too numerous to mention.
For crayfish, the iconic brand is "Wenheyou". Wenheyou is a brand, with a dedicated stinky tofu museum on Taiping Old Street, as well as a fried skewer shop, stinky tofu, large meat sausages, and a strong brand culture. Stinky tofu (10 yuan per serving).
Look at these spectacular electric scooters! Mobike is the same. New users get 3 days free for 6 rides within half an hour, 2 rides per day ~ Riding them through the streets is so cool.
The bustling Taiping Old Street is a street that combines food & the best-preserved original old street layout in the ancient city. Here you can find historical sites like Jia Yi's Former Residence, Changhuai Well, the West Archway of Ming Ji Fan Wangfu, and old houses with black tiles and white walls.
Internet-famous milk tea shops are everywhere. Their density around Wuyi Square is astonishing: one every few dozen meters, and each has a queue. There are even two in our hotel. (Recommended drink: Youlan Latte; average about 16 yuan per person)
The scenic area has two entrances: the South Gate and the East Gate (also called North Gate). Most cultural attractions are near the South Gate, including Yuelu Academy at the foot of the mountain, Aiwan Pavilion in Qingfeng Gorge, the ancient Lushan Temple with a history of over 1,700 years, and Yunlu Daoist Temple at the top.
Yuelu Academy requires advance reservation. Ticket: 40 yuan.
The famous Hunan Normal University and Hunan University are located at the foot of the scenic Yuelu Mountain, rich in cultural and historical significance.
Changsha Bamboo Slips Museum is located at No. 92 Baisha Road, Tianxin District, Changsha. Established in 2002, it is a national first-class museum. Its main collections include the Sun Wu period bamboo slips from Zoumalou discovered in 1996, the Eastern Han bamboo slips from Wuyi Square Jiuruzhai found in 1997, the Western Han bamboo slips from Zoumalou unearthed in 2003, and the bamboo slips from the tomb of "Yuyang", the queen of the Western Han Changsha king excavated in 1993, along with gold, jade, wood lacquerware, and other cultural relics, as well as some scattered documents acquired in recent years. (Ticket: Free)
And on the southwest corner of the old city, west of Tianxin Pavilion, this historical district is divided by the East Pond in the center into three streets in a cross shape: they are the historic old streets of Changsha — Duzheng Street, Gaozheng Street, and Xianzheng Street.
This is the edge of the old city. It hides the past years of Changsha. It still retains the most authentic urban charm of Changsha for a hundred years.
A bowl of rice noodles from "Zhou Ji Noodle Shop" interprets the historical flavor of old Changsha. For Changsha people, rice noodles are like these streets to the city: a carrier of the past and the future. (Picture below: 30 yuan)
The century-old famous brand - "Yang Yuxing" noodle shop is highly recommended.
Their noodles have long enjoyed a good reputation. The characteristics are: careful selection of ingredients, fine preparation, and meticulous seasoning. For example, the noodles are made fresh, the water for boiling noodles is wide, clear, and boiling, and the toppings are prepared on demand, fresh and delicious. (Picture below: 31 yuan)
It is a long-established Changsha brand that has led Hunan cuisine for 22 years. Currently, it has 22 directly-operated stores in Hunan, with 20 in Changsha, and one each in Zhuzhou and Xiangtan. (Average 68 yuan per person)
