A City You'll Want to Visit Again and Again – Changsha

Preface: How should I put it? This trip was quite sudden. The week before the Dragon Boat Festival, my office coworkers all chose to travel, and listening to them made me tempted too. Since it was too last-minute, train tickets were scarce, and I managed to get tickets for Saturday at 4 PM. (Two people, Saturday 4 PM to Tuesday 7 AM – actually only two and a half days. Train tickets round trip cost 1,600 RMB, accommodation 1,200 RMB for three nights, plus food, drinks, and entertainment, total spending around 4,000 RMB.)

Day 1: Arrived in Changsha at 9 PM. Went to Taiping Street and Bozi Street.

Day 2: Xia Ji Rice Noodle Shop – Houhu Park – Tianxiake Restaurant – Wenheyou – Wenping Temple.

Day 3: Feidachu Restaurant – Meixihu International Culture and Arts Center – Chinese Knot Bridge – City Island – Orange Island – Mozi BBQ.

Beautiful scenery captured from the train; I was really looking forward to this trip to Changsha. Due to the train delay, we arrived at the Changsha homestay at 9 PM. After resting a bit, we headed straight to our first destination: Taiping Street.

My first cup of Sexy Tea – as a milk tea addict, it was a delight. The Youlan Latte was light and fragrant, not greasy. In two words: delicious.

A very famous pancake shop, known as a must-try for dried vegetable pancakes. After tasting it, I found it a bit average, not sweet.

Black Classic Stinky Tofu is incredibly famous – almost every shop had a long line. It turned out to be worth it. The surface was fried very crispy, and the juice soaked into the tofu, making it very flavorful. One serving costs 10 RMB.

The entire street is full of food. It’s not long – you can walk it in about 20 minutes. There were many people at night, but it was quite lively.

Blueberry ice jelly – average. It had white sugar and blueberry sauce added.

A small shop suitable for taking photos.

Second destination: Bozi Street, which is right next to Taiping Street, giving a night market vibe.

Finally, I bought a cup of lemon tea – a whole cup of ice, not worth the money, but thirst-quenching. Changsha was really hot. The first day ended.

Day 2: First stop – Xia Ji Rice Noodle Shop, 900 meters from the homestay. We arrived around 10 AM. As expected of a popular shop, we queued for a full 30 minutes.

Maybe because my taste is heavier – see the oil in the zhajiang noodles? It had an oily taste that completely masked the flavor of the sauce. The noodles themselves were good, but the sauce was disappointing. The pork rib rice noodles seem to be the shop’s specialty, but I found the noodles too soft – I feel it’s not worth a special trip.

Second stop: Houhu Park. Some of the buildings inside are quite unique, good for photos. But it’s huge – really huge. It took over an hour to walk around.

We finished exploring at 2:30 PM and headed straight to Tianxiake Restaurant, another must-visit popular spot. There were many people, and we waited in line for 40 minutes. While waiting, I ordered milk tea – the damn weather was so hot that I only wanted cold drinks.

Sour radish stir-fried with beef tripe – among the top three sellers. Basically it’s a good dish to go with rice, but generous portions make it good value.

Dried squid shreds stir-fried with shredded pork – also a top seller. But isn’t this minced pork?

Four dishes for 160 RMB – I think the price-performance ratio was acceptable.

After eating, we went straight back to the homestay at 4:30 PM, too tired. Rested a bit, and set out at 8 PM for the third stop – Wenheyou. It’s a 15-minute bike ride from the homestay. It is said that 200 million RMB was spent on this building – great for photos, very vintage style. Inside there is plenty of food, but because there were too many people, we took some pictures and left.

Another cup of milk tea to quench thirst.

Fourth stop: Wenping Temple, full of food.

A friend recommended perilla peaches, saying they whet the appetite. I found them awful – sour with a winey taste.

Changsha’s fried skewers are very famous, but after two cups of milk tea, I couldn’t eat anymore – just watched.

Bought a mango pomelo sago ice jelly to take back.

Jinji is very famous for its tangyuan (sugar oil glutinous rice balls). Look at the line.

In my opinion, the best food in Changsha besides Sexy Tea was this tangyuan. It’s a bit like ba si yuan zi (candied sweet potato balls). I recommend it, and you must look for this brand.

Finally, we went to the top floor of IFS International Center for photos. Day 2 ended – I was really exhausted.

The mango pomelo sago ice jelly I brought back – average.

Called for a midnight snack at 1 AM – Changsha crayfish. The flavor was not very strong, neither bad nor good.

Noodles were the essence – but super spicy.

Day 3: First stop – got up and had an early lunch, must-visit Feidachu Restaurant.

Pidan Jiao di (screaming) eggplant – something like that name? Amazing, delicious, a must-order. Maybe because it’s mashed like this, it’s very flavorful and pairs well with rice.

The rice for two people came directly in a rice cooker – haha, so cute.

Razor clams with loofah – delicious, the clam meat was plump and fresh.

Look at the size of this lemon juice – two people couldn’t finish it.

Top-selling chili stir-fried pork – good, also very good with rice. The pork was thinly sliced, and the chili was well-cooked. Recommended.

Total 156 RMB – not bad.

Second stop: Meixihu International Culture and Arts Center. The exterior of the building was grand, and the lines were perfect for photos.

Third stop: 10-minute bike ride from Meixihu to the Chinese Knot Bridge – quite spectacular.

15-minute bike ride from the Chinese Knot Bridge to City Island.

You walk up layer by layer – the top floor is great for photos.

Third stop: Orange Island – I really suggest going at night. We arrived at 5:30 PM, only to find that the Mao statue was completely backlit. We waited until 6:30 PM but still no good.

Back to Taiping Street for the last dinner – Mozi BBQ, very popular, queued 40 minutes.

A bit like Northeast-style BBQ, not amazing. I still recommend the shrimp paste.

Summary: Changsha is truly a food paradise, and everything is very concentrated – no need to travel far. Because I did a lot of research (recommended Xiang cuisine restaurants like Tianxiake, Feidachu, Cuyan Shidai, etc.), due to time, I chose two of them. Personally, I prefer Feidachu (considering price, environment, etc.). As for tangyuan, many small shops have them; I haven’t tried other places so I can’t compare, but I had Jinji and was very satisfied. Changsha’s attractions are also concentrated, and transportation is convenient. Places like Bozi Street, Taiping Street, Wenping Temple, and Huangxing South Road Pedestrian Street are great for evening strolls. So Changsha, I will come again! Du Fu River Pavilion, Yuelu Mountain, and many more attractions are waiting for me~