Huarong Tourism Promotion Route

When people mention Huarong, they immediately recall the famous line from Tang poet Li Bai: Clouds yearn for her raiment, flowers yearn for her face;

Spring breeze brushes the balustrade, dew glistens in full grace. They also picture the forty-five-li Peach Blossom Mountain and the historical tale of Guan Yu sparing Cao Cao on the Huarong Trail. The ancient Chinese character "Hua" was interchangeable with "Hua" meaning flower. As the name suggests, Huarong is a land of breathtaking natural beauty.

Huarong sits on the border between northern Hunan and southern Hubei. The Yangtze River winds through its northeast, and the 800-li Dongting Lake surrounds its southeast. Encircled by rivers and lakes, it enjoys unparalleled water resources. Provincial Highways S306, S202 and S203 run across the whole territory, and the Yueyang-Changde Expressway under construction will form a vital new highway artery linking northern Hunan and southern Hubei to renowned tourist destinations including the Peach Blossom Spring, Zhangjiajie, the Southern Great Wall and the Three Gorges. The county seat is merely over 60 kilometres from the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway, the Beijing-Zhuhai Expressway and Chenglingji Foreign Trade Wharf.

Huarong boasts exceptionally abundant tourism resources. First, it is a place rich in historical and cultural heritage. Many celebrated figures once set foot here, including Yu the Great, Liu Xiang, Fan Li, King Ling of Chu, Guan Yu, Du Fu and Yue Fei. The local area has also nurtured numerous outstanding talents: Hu Guang of the Han Dynasty, Liu Daxia and Li Chun of the Ming Dynasty were all men of profound knowledge and both civil and military talent.

Second, Huarong features a wealth of natural scenic spots. To the east lies the Peach Blossom Mountain Scenic Area, covering a provincial forest park, an aquatic park, the White Fruit Tree, Leida Rock, Seven Maidens Peak, Gaoling Hill and Dongshan Lake. Ten thousand mu of bamboo groves on Peach Blossom Mountain are luxuriantly green; the crystal-clear Huayi Reservoir ripples with blue waves; the millennia-old white ginkgo tree bears witness to centuries of vicissitudes. To the south, East Lake adjoins the vast Dongting Lake. The mist-shrouded lake is dotted with shuttle boats, presenting unique charm. Yu Mountain, Ding Mountain, Mo Mountain, Tianjing Mountain, Longxiu Mountain and Huanghu Mountain stand encircling the county with varied and graceful shapes. Clear waters fill Chiyan Lake, West Lake, Luozhang Lake, Taxihu Lake, Chenta Lake and Dongwan Lake, each with distinctive appeal. More than 100,000 mu of reed marshes spread on the river shoals of the Yangtze River. The tall reeds stand valiant as warriors and slender as young maidens.

Third, Huarong boasts great potential for red tourism. Dongshan Mountain here was one of the core areas of the Hunan-Hubei-West Hunan Revolutionary Base. Peng Dehuai, He Long, Duan Dechang and Zhou Yiqun once commanded battles here, while He Changgong and Cai Xiemin embarked on their revolutionary journeys from this land. A Monument to Revolutionary Martyrs stands on Mingbi Mountain; the former site of the New Fourth Army wartime hospital is well preserved. The county Martyrs Cemetery is shaded by pine and cypress trees. The stone statue of He Changgong inscribed by Comrade Jiang Zemin stands amid flowers and green foliage, vivid and lifelike. A newly built museum on the eastern side of the cemetery displays over 1,000 cultural relics and more than 600 historical photos of the revolutionary period.

Fourth, Huarong is an ideal destination for leisure and vacations. Visitors can hike freely through the forests of Peach Blossom Mountain to relax their minds, row boats on Huayi Reservoir to escape stress, or stay in rural farm inns to savour idyllic countryside life. You may also pay homage at Dingshan Temple, King Yu Temple, Xian'e Temple and Moshan Temple amid curling incense, flickering candles, morning bells and evening drumbeats together with the tapping of wooden fish. Stroll around the People’s Square to admire white marble dragon totem pillars and appreciate the indomitable spirit of the Chinese nation, or wander down the commercial pedestrian street to experience the prosperity of Rongcheng Town in northern Hunan.

The tourism service system is well developed. At present, the county has one provincial forest park, nearly 100 recreational venues, three three-star hotels, four travel agencies and branch offices. Local featured tourist products enjoy wide popularity across Hunan Province, including Huarong Trail souvenirs, Nanshan mineral water, Shengfeng Silver Needle Tea, Huakai tourist food, river reed shoots, Chaqi mustard greens, Xinghua beer and Hua'ao textile products. A complete industrial chain covering food, accommodation, transportation, sightseeing, shopping and entertainment has basically taken shape. Apart from distinctive local snacks, cuisines from Hunan, Hubei, Guangdong, Sichuan, Fujian and northern China are all available in urban restaurants.

Huarong has distinctive folk culture. Jiaye Dianzi (Leaf-Beat Rhythm), a treasure of local folk art, is an authentic folk percussion music with profound rhythmic scores that stir people’s imagination and nostalgia. Other popular folk performances include Huarong Narrative Drum, Three-Stick Drum, dragon boat races, dragon and lion dances, lotus boat dances, clam dances, bamboo horse operas and land flower drum shows, all deeply loved by local people.

In developing county-level tourism, Huarong will implement the municipal government’s requirement to build a "hot tourist city". Guided by the scientific outlook on development, we will transform resource advantages into industrial strengths and comprehensively upgrade the overall image and market competitiveness of the tourism sector. Key tasks include: