(1)外文名称: Hunan Province
    (2)中文名称: 湖南省
    (3)内容:
                      Hunan Province
Geography:
    Hunan Province is a landlocked province covering an area of 210,500 sq km (81,274 square miles). A major rice-producing area, Hunan is situated to the south of the Yangtze River Basin. It is bordered by the provinces of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, and Guangdong to the southeast, by the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to the southwest, and by the provinces of Guizhou and Sichuan to the west. The name of Hunan is formed
from the Chinese words hu ("lake") and nan ("south"), meaning the land to the south of the Dongting Lake, stretching from Shashi, Hubei Province to Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province. Hunan's population is estimated at 38,000,000. The capital and most important city of the province is Changsha, situated in the east, on the banks of Xiangjiang River.
    Although the industrial sector has been developed since 1949, Hunan's economy remains largely agricultural. It ranks third among China's provinces in rice production; two crops are grown in the south a year. From the earlier decades of the 20th century, Hunan was a center of revolutionary activity; it was the birthplace of many Chinese Communist leaders, among them the most outstanding is Mao Zedong, a founder of the People's Republic of China.
History
    From 350 to 221 BC, Hunan formed the southernmost extension of the state of Chu. From 221 to 206 BC, Hunan was under the rule of Qin Dynasty, which subdued contending feudal states and joined them into the first unified state of China, of which Hunan formed part of the central area.
Landscape
    Relief: more than one-quarter of the terrain lies at a height of more than 1,650 feet, and much of it is well over 3,000 feet above sea level. The highlands in the west run from northeast to southwest, forming the eastward edge of the Guizhou Plateau, whose extension, the Xuefeng Mountains, lies in the heart of the province.
   The Nan Ling in the south run from east to west at altitudes of between 500 and 1,650 forming a broad mountain border between Hunan, Guangdong Province and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The uplands of the west, south and east fall steadily in altitude toward the plain of the Dongting Lake in the north,
which is contiguous to the Hubei plain and forms part of the flood plain of the Yangtze River. The part of the plain that lies within the borders of Hunan has an area of 3,800 square miles; it has been formed by the silt carried down from the mountains by the   Yangtze and its tributaries.
   The Dongting Lake is a broad and shallow lake, consisting of the remnants of a former inland sea, which once filled the entire Yangtze Basin. Its area varies considerably between summer and winter; it acts as a filter and regulator for water draining to the Yangtze.   
Drainage: Hunan's entire river system drains into the Dongting Lake, with only the exception that one tributary of Lin Stream draining directly into the Yangtze River. The western highlands are drained by the Yuan River and Li River. The Yuan in its upper courses features torrents, fast-flowing in summer, and run through deep gorges, broadening out to wider valleys in their lower courses. Hunan's largest river, the Xiangjiang, originates in the heart of the Nan Ling. Many smaller rivers that originate in the mountains along the eastern border flow westward to join the Xiangjiang in its northward courses.
Climate:
    The north generally experiences more extreme weather conditions, both in summer and in winter than the south. In winter, occasional waves of cold front form a high-pressure zone centered over Mongolia sweep southward, damaging tea bushes and fruit trees in northern Hunan. The average minimum temperature in December and January is 6 degrees Centigrade. Summer  is usually long and humid, and temperatures are slightly higher in the north. The average maximum temperature in July and August is 30 degrees Centigrade.
    The north has an average of 260 frost-free days a year, while the south has 300 days. Rainfall is ample, with the maximum precipitation occurring between spring and summer. The total annual rainfall of 1,602 millimeters decreases from south to north. Hunan lies in the path of cyclones that pass from west to east along the Yangtze Basin in summer, bringing with them at times long periods of heavy rain, resulting in extensive flooding of low-lying lands around the Dongting Lake.
Soils:
    The soils of the province are largely pedalferic (rich in alumna and iron), and are mainly lateritic (leached, iron-bearing) yellow soil or Quaternary red clays. In the hilly regions of central and southern Hunan, the soils are for the most part lateritic heavy clays that are strongly acidic and
poor in organic material. These regions are subject to soil erosion, especially when deforestation has occurred and plant coverage is low. The alluvial soils of the northern plains are less acidic and form a neutral zone between the pedalfers (iron and alumna-rich soils) of the south and the pedocals (arid and semiarid soils, enriched with lime) that occur further
north; they are used for growing rice.
Vegetation and Animal Life
    Despite vast deforestation to make way for cultivation over the past centuries, however, large woods of pine, cedar, bamboo, and camphor are found in the western highlands. Other important trees and shrubs include tung (from which tung oil is produced), tea (from which tea seed oil is made), and the liquidambar. Bamboo groves along the roadsides are characteristic of Hunan and provide a source of supply for the province's craft industries. As elsewhere in southern China, groves of bamboo, camphor and cedar are usually found around villages, contributing greatly to the charm of the countryside.
    Wildlife on the densely settled plains has largely disappeared. Rodents, such as rats, rabbits, and hares, abound, as also do snakes, scorpions, and centipedes. There are large amounts of birds, including pheasant, wild ducks, blue jays, and golden orioles. Some deer are found in the wooded hills of the
plains. The mountains to the west abound in gibbon and deer. There are also some tigers and wild boars.
Population:
   Hunan covers 2 percent of China's landmass, and contains about 5 percent of its population. The Dongting Plain and the main river valleys are where the population is primarily concentrated.
   Ethnic composition and distribution: There are over 1 million members of ethnic groups living in the western highlands. These minority peoples consist of four groups, the Miaos, the Tujia, the Dong, and the Yao. The way of life and economy of the Miao and the Tujia are similar, and the two groups were not differentiated in the 1953 census, when they were officially referred to as Miao. They lived in the west where their economy is based on the cultivation of terraced fields on hills and in narrow valleys. They grow corn on mountain slopes and elsewhere cultivate tung, tea, and galla nuts. Each group has its own distinctive handicrafts, notably embroidery and cross-stitch work. The Dong people live in their own autonomous counties in the extreme southwest, with their centers at Tongdao and Xinhuang. The Yao are widely scattered over the mountainous regions of the south and west.
Agriculture:
    Hunan has some 58,000,000 mu (15 mu equals one hectare) of cultivated land, 18 percent of its total area. About 22 percent of the land is covered by trees, 24 percent is barren hills considered suitable for afforestation, and 5 percent consists of water surface. The remaining land is regarded as unsuitable for development. Of Hunan's cultivable land, more than 30 percent lies in the plain around the Dongting Lake that stretches south to Xiangtan and Zhuzhou.
    One of China's leading rice-producing regions, Hunan exports a large surplus to other provinces. It is estimated that 85 percent of the cultivable land is devoted to paddies (rice fields), and a great many of which produce two crops of rice.
    Cash crops occupy almost 6 percent of the cultivable area. Rapeseed is planted mainly in the upper valleys of Xuefeng Mountain, while cotton, ramie and jute are produced in the northern plains around the Dongting Lake. Green and black tea are grown on the hills of the Xuefeng Mountains. Peanut cultivation is widespread. There is a marked zoning of fruit growing. Oranges, mandarin oranges, and grapefruit are grown in the south, tangerines, pears, and peaches are planted in the central region; and chestnuts, pears, and peaches are grown in the north.
    FISHERIES: Fish are caught in large quantities from lakes, rivers, and village ponds. The most common varieties are carp, silver carp, and "silver fish."
Mining Industry:
    The province's considerable mineral wealth includes ample coal reserves, adequate iron ore and manganese deposits, and large deposits of antimony, lead, zinc, and tungsten. The main coal deposits are located in the south.
    Iron ore is widely distributed, and there is a long established local industry that produces iron pots. The main iron mines are located in hills east and south of Changsha and Xiangtan. Development of the iron and steel industry focus on the triangle formed by the three large cities of Changsha, Xiangtan, and Zhuzhou. Antimony production centers on Xinhua,
northwest of Shaoyang. Hunan is China's third largest producer of tungsten, a gray-white metallic element used for electrical purposes.
    Plants producing both iron and steel are located in Xiangtan, while Zhuzhou is the center of a large-scale heavy industry and also specializes in electrical machinery and equipment. Changsha is Hunan's  center of the light industry, which includes rice milling, food processing, and textile manufacture. It is also famous for its handicrafts, which include Xiang (Hunan
typical) embroideries, duck-down quilts, umbrellas, and leather goods.
Transport:
    Railways: Hunan is crossed by the Beijing-Guangzhou Railroad, one of the country's most important railway artery. The line is in heavy use for passenger and freight transport. There is a junction at Hengyang leading to Guilin, Liuzhou and Nanning in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. From Zhuzhou,
the Zhe (Zhejiang Province)-Gan(Jiangxi Province) Railway runs via Nanchang to Jiujiang by the Yangtze, in Jiangxi Province, and Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province and Fuzhou in Fujian Province on the southeast coast. Another railway is that running from Xiangtan westward through Xuefeng Mountains to Guiyang on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau.
    Shipping: Shipping is an important means of transportation. A considerable proportion of Hunan's goods are transported by waterways, mainly by sailing junks using the rivers and their tributaries. Traffic on Xiangjiang is the busiest; cargoes consist mainly of grain, timber, salt, and mining construction
equipment. Yueyang in the northeast corner of the lake is the distribution center for the timber rafts that sail the Yangtze River to Wuhan.
    Roads: There is one main trunk road running from north to south, following the railway through Yueyang, Changsha, Xiangtan, and Hengyang. Three other main routes run from east to west and are of growing importance as they open up areas without access to railways.