Recently, the Hunan Provincial Department of Transportation announced the 2026 list of “Hunan’s Most Beautiful Rural Roads.” Changteng Highway in Qidong County was successfully selected, adding a shining new name card to Hengyang’s construction of “Four-Good Rural Roads.”

Stretching 9.2 kilometers, Changteng Highway is located in the heart of Siming Mountain National Forest Park in Qidong County. It winds its way through the lush green mountains and clear waters at the junction of three cities: Hengyang, Shaoyang, and Yongzhou.

In recent years, under the professional guidance of Hengyang’s transportation and highway authorities, Qidong’s transportation department has vigorously promoted the quality upgrading of rural roads, continuously improving safety standards and the road environment. Changteng Highway has been paved with asphalt, resulting in a smoother and more solid surface. Supporting facilities such as safety protection, drainage systems, and traffic signs have been constantly improved. Along the route, an ecological landscape road harmonizing with the surrounding forests, fields, and countryside has been created.

The successful selection of Changteng Highway is a vivid reflection of our city’s continuous efforts to build “Four-Good Rural Roads” and enhance the construction, management, and maintenance levels of rural highways. Today, this mountain winding road has become a “scenic route” for self-driving check-ins among many citizens and tourists.

The beauty of this road lies not only in its scenery.

With improved traffic conditions, it has become more convenient to transport specialty agricultural products from the Siming Mountain area, such as high-mountain tea, dried bamboo shoots, and Chinese medicinal herbs. Businesses along the route, including homestays, farmhouses, and fruit picking, have gradually developed. One road connects the inside and outside of the mountains, boosting villagers' income and the development of rural cultural tourism. The achievements of Changteng Highway were previously reported and recommended by media outlets including China Communications News, Hunan Red Net, and Hunan Economic Television.

Next, Hengyang’s transportation and highway authorities will continue to strengthen professional guidance, summarize experiences, and promote exemplary models, pushing more rural roads to become “convenience roads,” “prosperity roads,” and “scenic routes,” thereby providing more solid transportation guarantees for the comprehensive revitalization of rural areas.

Hengyang is a century-old industrial city and a landmark of Hunan culture. The Jianxiang old factory, railway heritage, and Chuanshan Time Valley bear witness to the struggles of past builders; while the millennia-old scholarly legacy of Shigu Academy continues to carry forward the profound Hengyang culture and the steadfast Hunan spirit.

Route 1

Day 1

Morning｜Jianxiang Industrial Art Museum (Jianxiang Industrial Culture Block) + Photo check-in at Jianxiang old factory buildings

Late Morning｜Baoweili Cultural & Creative Old Street

Noon｜Lunch

Afternoon｜Hengyang Railway Museum

Late Afternoon｜Chuanshan Time Valley (Xidu High-Tech Zone, Hengyang County)

Evening｜Return Journey

Route 2

Day 1

Morning｜Yumu Mountain Scenic Area

Noon｜Lunch

Afternoon｜Hengzhou Culture Museum (Yumu Mountain Town, Zhengxiang District)

Evening｜Return to downtown & Check in at hotel

Day 2

Morning｜Metasequoia at Nanhu Park

Late Morning｜Shigu Academy + Millennium Ginkgo

Noon｜Lunch in downtown

Afternoon｜Harvest picking at Shanshui Lotus Scenic Area (Limin Village, Jiaoshan Town, Shigu District)

Evening｜Return Journey

Autumn in Hengyang paints a picture at every turn. In Qidong's Siming Mountain, the woods blaze with vibrant colors as dawn redwoods glow like rosy clouds; at the ancient Xiangjiang River ferry in Hengshan, the setting sun melts into liquid gold, while rosy clouds dance across the river crossing.

Route 1 Qidong County

Day 1

Morning｜Depart from Hengyang → Siming Mountain National Forest Park

Noon｜Lunch in Siming Mountain

Afternoon｜Siming Mountain National Forest Park (Gentle Trail Section)

Late Afternoon｜Daylily Museum (Huangtupo Town)

Evening｜Return to Qidong County Downtown & Check-in

Day 2

Morning｜Shajingwan Ancient Dwellings (Fengshiyan Town)

Late Morning｜Metasequoia Forest at Chebitang River, Baidisheng Town

Noon｜Lunch in Baidisheng Town

Afternoon｜Return Journey

Route 2 Hengshan County

Day 1

Morning｜Zijin Mountain Wellness Trail (Goutou Peak Rainbow Trail)

Noon｜Lunch in Baiguo Town

Afternoon｜Yuebei Farmers' Association Red Scenic Area (San Gong Ancestral Hall of Liu Jie)

Late Afternoon｜Former Residence of Tang Qunying (Huangni Village, Xinqiao Town)

Evening｜King Kang's Temple · Hengshan Ferry (Xiang River Ferry Folk Culture Block)

Evening｜Hengshan Ferry "1+N" Performance & Nightscape Spectacle

Late Evening｜Return Journey

The Sacred Nanyue, resonates with profound Zen heritage; Changning Seal Mountain unveils jade-green wonders among its fantastic rocks; while endless expanses of oil-tea camellia forests brim with vibrant life. Welcome to refresh your soul with Zen tranquility, and immerse yourself in serene, picturesque landscapes.

Route 1 Nanyue District

Day 1

Morning｜Fuyan Temple (with Millennium Ginkgo)

Noon｜Vegetarian cuisine in Nanyue or local restaurant

Afternoon｜Time City of 1944

Evening｜NanYue Li Temple Fair & Folk Food Street

Late Evening｜Stay overnight at hotel in Nanyue District

Day 2

Morning｜Grand Temple of Nanyue

Late Morning｜Wanshou Grand Cauldron Scenic Area

Noon｜Lunch in Nanyue District

Afternoon｜Exhibition Hall of Nanyue Guerrilla Cadre Training Class

Evening｜Return Journey

Route 2 Changning City 

Day 1

Morning｜China Seal Mountain

Noon｜Lunch in Miaoqian Town

Afternoon｜God of Wealth Cave

Evening｜Homestay in Miaoqian Town (Overnight Stay)

Day 2

Morning｜Ancient Dwellings of Zhongtian Village

Noon｜Farm-to-table lunch near the ancient village

Afternoon｜Memorial Hall of Shuikoushan Workers' Movement + Mining Heritage Site Complex

Evening｜Hotel in Changning Downtown (Overnight Stay)

Day 3

Morning｜Shishan Village & Ping'an Village Oil-Tea Town, Xiling

Noon｜Lunch

Afternoon｜Return Journey

Route 3 Hengnan County, Hengyang Urban Area and Hengyang County

Day 1

Morning｜Dasanxiang Tea Oil Culture Park (Jiyun Industrial Park, Hengnan County)

Noon｜Lunch in Jiyun, Hengnan / Urban area

Afternoon｜Guohan Traditional Chinese Medicine Wellness Industrial Tourism Base (No. 1 Luojinqiao, Yanfeng District)

Late Afternoon｜Tongqi Pharmaceutical Intelligent TCM Formula Factory (Hengyang High-Tech Zone)

Evening｜Stay overnight at hotel in Hengyang Urban Area

Day 2

Morning｜Goulou Peak National Forest Park (Gentle Trail Section)

Noon｜Lunch in Goulou Peak Scenic Area

Afternoon｜Return Journey

Hengyang is a revolutionary heartland in southern Hunan. It was here that Xia Minghan wrote his immortal verse, "Beheading matters not, if truth runs free." Leiyang served as a key battlefield of the Southern Hunan Uprising, and Marshal Luo Ronghuan began his revolutionary journey from this very land. Walking the ancient red trails and visiting historic revolutionary sites, every pilgrimage becomes a red baptism that deeply refreshes the soul.

Route 1 Hengdong County

Day 1

Morning｜Former Residence of Marshal Luo Ronghuan

Noon｜Lunch in Ronghuan Town

Afternoon｜Xiyan Fairy Cave

Evening｜Xiangjiang South Hot Spring Resort (Overnight Stay)

Day 2

Morning｜Hot Spring Resort

Noon｜Lunch in Hengdong County

Afternoon｜Return Journey

Route 2 Leiyang City

Day 1

Morning｜Cailun Bamboo Sea

Noon｜Farm-to-table lunch inside the scenic area

Afternoon｜Cailun Bamboo Sea · Slow sightseeing continued

Evening｜Hotel in Leiyang Downtown (Overnight Stay)

Day 2

Morning｜Cailun Memorial Park + Cailun Paper Museum

Noon｜Lunch in Leiyang Downtown

Afternoon｜Former Residence of Wu Ruolan

Evening｜Return Journey

Route 3 Hengyang County and Yanfeng District

Day 1

Morning｜Xia Minghan Hometown Red Culture Tourism Zone (Qulan Town)

Noon｜Lunch

Afternoon｜Wang Chuanshan Memorial Hall

Mid-to-Late Afternoon｜Jiaoshan Joyful Rice House (Xidu Town, Hengyang County)

Evening｜Stay overnight at hotel in Xidu Town

Day 2

Morning｜Huaxi Mountain Forest · Chuanshan Ancient Trail

Noon｜Lunch in Shancun Village

Afternoon｜Red Story Experience Hall

Evening｜Return Journey

Historical Backdrop

Time City · 1944 is a landmark cultural destination in Hengyang built around one of the most pivotal chapters of the Second Sino-Japanese War—the 47-day Defense of Hengyang in 1944. Often called "the Eastern Stalingrad," the battle was among the war's longest and fiercest urban defenses, earning Hengyang its posthumous title as "City of Heroes." The site occupies a thoughtfully restored area that preserves the spatial memory of wartime Hengyang while anchoring the city's broader effort to honor this defining moment in its modern history.

Transformation Highlights

Rather than a conventional museum, Time City reimagines historical remembrance as an immersive, walkable environment. The complex blends restored period architecture with cutting-edge multimedia installations, life-size street scenes from 1940s Hengyang, and interactive exhibits that bring wartime civilian and military narratives to life. Thematic zones shift between somber memorial spaces and atmospheric commercial streets, where heritage buildings house cafés, bookstores, and creative studios—proving that historical sites can be both reverent and vibrantly alive.

Visitor Tips

Allow 2–3 hours for a full visit. Evenings are particularly atmospheric, when period-style street lamps and ambient soundscapes heighten the immersive effect. The site is easily paired with Route 2 of Hengyang's new Xiangchao tourism circuit. Occasional live reenactments and themed night events are offered on weekends—check the official WeChat channel ahead for schedules.

   The Shuikoushan Workers' Movement Exhibition Hall was first built in 1969. It is located in the Shuikoushan Lead-Zinc Mining Area of Changning City, Hengyang City—a national key transportation hub, a major city in Central South China, and a renowned historical and cultural city in Hunan Province. It is designated as a Patriotic Education Base of Hunan Province, a National Defense Education Base for All Citizens of Hunan Province, a Demonstration Site for Patriotic Education of Hengyang, a Party Spirit Education Base of Hengyang, and a National AA-Class Red Tourism Scenic Spot.

Basic Overview

   Originally constructed in 1969, the exhibition hall covers a building area of 2,300 square meters, consisting of an exhibition building and auxiliary structures. The exhibition building, formerly the Soviet Expert Building, is a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level. Ranking second in China in terms of its founding history, it is the only exhibition hall dedicated to workers' movements in Hunan. It permanently hosts the Basic Exhibition on the Shuikoushan Workers' Movement and is open to the public free of charge.

   Affiliated with the Changning Municipal Cultural Heritage Center, the exhibition hall currently has 12 staff members, with functional departments including the General Office, Exhibition & Publicity Department, Cultural Relics Protection & Research Department, and Security Department. Centered on its basic exhibitions and surrounding revolutionary sites, supported by various Party lectures featuring the deeds of martyrs and historical events of the Shuikoushan Workers' Movement, and supplemented by achievements in protecting and utilizing Shuikoushan's industrial heritage, it provides rich on-site and experiential teaching services for Party members and officials.

Basic Exhibition

   Composed of a preface hall and four exhibition rooms, the exhibition is divided into five sections:

   Roots in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, Inheriting Millennium Legacy

   Feudal Colonial Oppression, Sparking Spontaneous Resistance

   Tide of Strikes Resounding Across the Nation

   Marching to Jinggangshan, Embarking on a New Journey

   Revolutionary Pioneers, Achievements Immortalized in History

   Through a wealth of cultural relics, precious photographs, creative prints, and multimedia displays, it comprehensively showcases the glorious course of the Shuikoushan Workers' Movement under the leadership of the Communist Party of China.

   The preface hall features a backdrop, a foreword, and slogans defining the historical status of the movement. In Hunan's revolutionary soil, Shuikoushan workers rose up in struggle, establishing the first mine Party organization, the first mine club, the first peasant union, and the first worker-peasant armed force in Hunan. They launched the world-shocking Shuikoushan Workers' Strike and formed a worker-peasant alliance that marched to Jinggangshan. Thus, Shuikoushan became a pioneer of China's workers' movement and a model of worker-peasant alliance in China.

Historical Background

   In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, workers at the Shuikoushan Lead-Zinc Mine suffered severe exploitation by feudal bureaucrats and plunder by imperialist powers, living in extreme hardship. The May Fourth Movement in 1919 ignited a nationwide upsurge in the spread of Marxism.

   In late April 1922, Mao Zedong personally visited Shuikoushan, lighting the fuse of the workers' movement. On December 5, 1922, over 3,000 workers went on strike, which lasted 23 days and ended in complete victory. Subsequently, workers established schools, supported the May 30th Movement, formed armed forces, launched the Shuikoushan Uprising, and assisted the Southern Hunan Uprising. In 1928, 800 miners marched to Jinggangshan, becoming the backbone of the Red Army. The movement made a significant contribution to the great victory of the Chinese revolution.

Development Progress

Record-Breaking Visitor Numbers

  Since free admission in 2011, the hall has received over 1.6 million visitors, averaging more than 150,000 annually—including 800,000 minors and over 500 group visits for Party-building activities. In 2019 alone, it hosted over 200,000 visitors, 130,000 of whom were Party members and officials, and held over 260 sessions for the "Stay True to the Original Aspiration, Keep the Mission in Mind" thematic education.

Fruitful Historical Research

   Further research has uncovered forgotten historical truths:

   The Shuikoushan Workers' Consumer Cooperative may be the earliest prototype of a bank in the Party's history.

   The ordnance workshop established by workers, which repaired and manufactured weapons, was the earliest military arsenal of the People's Army.

The Shuikoushan workers' armed force was organized into the Direct Special Battalion under the headquarters of the Fourth Red Army—the first special battalion in the PLA's history and the predecessor of the later Central Guard Regiment.

   The Shuikoushan Workers' Armed Uprising was a major independent workers' uprising in Hunan, historically known as the "Shuikoushan Uprising".

Tailored Video Education

    To enrich thematic education, the documentary The Great Shuikoushan Workers' Movement was produced, fully presenting its spirit: firm faith, fearlessness of sacrifice, innovation, pioneering courage, strict discipline, and unity. It deepens officials' understanding of the pioneers' perseverance in ideals and sense of mission amid hardships.

Improved Infrastructure

   In 2019, a lecture hall, conference rooms, and reception rooms were added, accommodating over 80 people for meetings and training. Signage was standardized, with traffic signs at highway exits and tourist facilities upgraded—including a visitor center, guide signs, and maps. Renovations included landscaping, public toilets, office roofs, and walls. Full-time cleaners were hired, with 10 new garbage bins ensuring daily waste removal and a clean environment.

Boosting Red and Industrial Tourism

  New Shuikoushan Workers' Movement Memorial Hall: Under construction with an investment of ~70 million yuan, it will have a 4,000 ㎡ main building and 3,000 ㎡ exhibition area, leveraging the movement's historical status and rich heritage.

   Revolutionary Site Renovation: With a 20 million yuan investment, the Kang's Opera Stage and Kang Hanliu's Restaurant sites will be restored, with surrounding environment improved and tourist facilities built to develop a 4A-class red tourism scenic spot

    Cherry blossoms on Yumu Mountain in Zhengxiang District is the ultimate spring romance.

    In Xuanzhou Town, Hengshan County, thousands of mu of rapeseed flowers are in full bloom, attracting crowds of visitors who come for spring outings and flower viewing.

    In March, misty rain veils the Dongzhou Island, Peach blossoms dye the vernal spring.

    The garden is located in Luoqiao Town, Changning City, Hengyang. Home to over one million cherry trees, it creates a spectacular sea of blossoms, making it the premier destination for cherry blossom viewing in Hengyang. The blooming season runs from early March to early April.

The Museum of World Watch Culture is located in Xidu Hi-tech Industrial Park, Xidu Town, Hengyang County, Hengyang City.

As the first museum of watch culture in Central China, it’s also a national 3A tourist attraction, provincial industrial tourism demonstration site, Hengyang industrial tourism demonstration base, education base for Hengyang primary and secondary school students’ research study tours, and the academic exchange center of global watch identification.

The exhibition hall focuses on the exhibition and interpretation of watch culture, and mainly tells the history of Su Song’s invention of the key escapement, the development of Swiss watch brands, the breakthrough of Japanese quartz watch industry and the rise of Chinese watch brands.

There are eight parts, including the memorial area of Su Song, who was the ancestor of clocks and watches, the exhibition area of ancient timekeeping instruments and ancient clock making tools, and the exhibition area of modern clocks and watches.

The Museum of World Watch Culture is a unique “tourism plus” project integrating the watch production factory, the watch garden landscape and the research base of watch culture for schools.

Since the exhibition on Hunan stories in cultural relics was held in Hengyang Museum of Hengyang City on September 30, the daily average number of visitors has exceeded 10,000.

This exhibition is an important platform for inheriting and promoting Hunan culture.

It gathers 10 national treasures from Hunan Museum, 44 exquisite cultural relics from Hengyang Museum, and 1 treasure from Guizhou Provincial Museum.

Through the three major sections, it takes visitors to travel from prehistoric times to modern times and experience China’s profound cultural heritage and artistic achievements.

The photos taken on November 9 show tourists visiting Yanglin Ancient Village in Yanglin Town, Hengdong County, Hengyang City, enjoying the warm winter sun.

Photos taken on December 1 show multi-colored dawn redwoods in the countryside of Changjiang and Laowu villages of Sanjiaotang Town, Changning City. The charming scenery attracts many visitors to take photos or do fitness.