Night View of Yongzhou

Yongzhou City is located in the south of Hunan Province, neighboring Chenzhou in the east and Hengyang in the north. It is also bordered by Guangdong Province in the south and Guangxi Province in the west. It has 9 counties under its jurisdiction, covering an area of 24 thousand square kilometers.       

History

Yongzhou was known as Lingling before the Sui Dynasty (581-618). Lingling County was first established in the Qin Dynasty (221BC-206BC) and was later promoted to Lingling Shire. The Sui Court decided to abolish the system of prefectures and counties, and Lingling was then changed to Yongzhou Fu. After that, the place was called both Yongzhou and Lingling.        
           

Tourism

Yongzhou is famous for its beautiful mountain and river scenery. Jiuyi Mountain in Ningyuan County, Wu Brook in Qiyang, Sunhuang Mountain in Dong'an, Yangming Mountain in Shuangpai and Longhu Pass in Jiangyong provide tourists plenty of choices to view the beautiful natural scenery of Yongzhou.

Located 60 kilometers (37 miles) south of Ningyuan County, Jiuyi mountain consists of nine peaks. It is charming and attractive not only for the unique natural scenery, but also for a vivid legend. The story tells of one of the five great emperors in Chinese prehistoric times, Shun the Great, and his two concubines. On hearing about his death in the Cangwu Mountain (this was the old name for Jiuyi Mountain); the two concubines went there but failed to find their husband. They missed the way because the nine peaks all look so alike. Nowadays, the central peak is called Shunyuan Peak and the two elegant peaks around it are said to be the two women. 

According to legend, Emperor Shun passed one mountain and was attracted by the beautiful mountains and rivers. He decided to live here. So, it got its name Sunhuang Mountain. The main peak has an altitude of 1882.4 meters. One can enjoy beautiful flowers four seasons in a year. There are also rich culture sights here. There are the site of Tianning Temple, the caved stele and poems of Kou Leng, Jie Xu and some other famous people in history, the temple of Deng Yu, the tomb of Deng Sanfeng, the official in Southern Dynasty, Guangli Bridge, which is a famous construction of Qing Dyansty and Yaotai Village, for the entertainment of tourists. It is not only a kingdom of propagation, as well as a famous scenic spot for tourism and entertainment.

The drift of Yangming Mountain is 6 kilometers long, with a time of one and half hours and fall of 200-odd meters. It covers a total area of 170 square mu, with 116 hills along the two rivers. The peak has an altitude of 1625 meters. Yangming Mountain National Forest Park is the second biggest of the same kind in Hunan Province.  In Tang Dynasty, Liu Zongyuan traveled near Yangming Mountain. In the mountain area, there were temples in Song Dynasty. In Jiajin Period of Ming Dynasty, it is said that Buddhist Monk Xiufeng lived in the temple here. His body kept well after he died and preserved in the temple. He was called the seventh master of Zen. From then on, this temple has become a sacred place for Zen study. Many tourists have visited here. At the peak of Yangming Mountain, there are many wild azalea. It was called the best azalea in China. At May, the azaleas are booming here.

It is said that, Jiang Jieshi held a military meeting in Mount Heng. During the meeting, he visited Yangming Mountain and was impressed deeply by this place. After Jiang Jieshi retreated in defeat in went to Taiwan, he missed Yangming Mountain very much. So, he renamed Cao Mountain in Taibei as Yangming Mountain.

Travelers in Yongzhou should also try the tasty local snacks. The most characteristic local snacks in Yongzhou are Xian Tofu (fried bean-curd stuffed with mashed meat and vegetables) and Ningyuan Braised Duck.

Climate

Situated at the junction of temperate and subtropical zones, Yongzhou enjoys a humid monsoon climate characterized by a moderate temperature, abundant rainfall and sufficient sunshine. The annual average temperature is around 17.6-18.6℃ (63.7-65.5℉).     
     
Table of statistics for Yongzhou climate for each month of the year