By YI DA

On hot summer nights, many young women of Changsha like to take a motor cycle ride.

CHANGSHA enjoys a high reputation by virtue of Chairman Mao, native of Hunan, who studied at Hunan No.1 Normal College. During the personality cult era of the 1960s and 1970s, therefore, Changsha was a sacred place to which pilgrimages were made from all over the country.

Opinions as to Hunan Province' capital city vary widely. There are those that think of Changsha, with its abundant rivers, green mountains, and numerous beauty spots, as a beautiful city, but there are also those who see it as dingy, dilapidated, and disordered, little better than some backwater village. Changsha has, therefore, beautiful and ugly aspects, but in any event provides its people with a profound and solid cultural foundation.

With more than 3,000 years of history, Changsha is an ancient city with numerous historic relics, such as Qin Dynasty (221-206 B.C.) bricks, Han Dynasty (206 B.C.- A.D. 220) tiles, and bamboo slips from the Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.). In this respect, it can be compared to Xi'an where the world-famous terracotta warriors are located.

Well preserved traditional residences.

Changsha has rich cultural connotations, one being the ancient Yuelu Academy of Classical Learning, famous for its celebrated graduates, and whose teaching principles and methods still have influence on China's academic research. Hunan Province has always maintained a relatively high educational standard, and in old times, it was the women of Changsha that were the favored few with access to an education. Today's Changsha is well known for its advanced science and technology, universities, and its dozens of citizens who are academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, among whom the most celebrated is high-yield rice expert, Yuan Longping, whose achievements have helped solve the problem of feeding China's huge population.

Changsha is, however, also imbued with local color. Numerous buildings have sprung up from what were formerly vegetable plots, and a high percentage of the urban inhabitants were previously farmers. They consequently violate traffic regulations, trample and destroy the city's lawns, spit everywhere, and are noisy in public places such as cinemas and restaurants. Like it or not, these phenomena bear witness to China's urbanization process.

A gauze robe (weighing 49 grams) from 2,100 years ago, unearthed from Mawangdui Han tomb.

Judging from the way they talk and dress, the people of Changsha appear uncouth and uncultured. They enjoy trashy TV comedy series, and it is little wonder that TV programs that combine a foreign style, popular content aimed at buttering up local people, presented by off-puttingly jovial hosts and hostesses are so popular here. Changsha people never attempt to conceal their vulgarity, and it is common to hear taxi drivers curse in their home dialect. The Changsha people are tolerant and good humored, and when watching TV programs that make fun of them, never get incensed, but on the contrary, split their sides with laughter. They are also hospitable, having on at least one occasion treated several foreign students encountered by chance at a local restaurant to a Changsha specialty.

Changsha people are well known for their gourmand propensities. When walking along the city's ancient lanes at suppertime, a mouthwatering fragrance assails one's nostrils. Changsha dishes are distinctive in both look and flavor, and Changsha people are excellent cooks. A visitor's best choice is, therefore, to try the local home cooking in a Changsha household.

Unlike Beijing and Shanghai, peak-hour in Changsha is midnight, and lasts at most half an hour. At midnight, the city is a sea of taxis, as locals set out for Changsha's numerous entertainment venues.

Mao Zedong is the pride of Changsha. Mao Zedong's statue, photos and poetry occupy the most important position in this restaurant, while the image of the God of Wealth is placed in a corner.

At the beginning of the 1990s, nightclubs sprang up like mushrooms in Changsha, later to be replaced by karaoke halls. Going for a foot massage is the latest craze, as there are many important acupuncture points on the soles of the feet, and a foot massage is therefore believed to be beneficial to the whole body.

Of all the crazes and fads that have come and gone, only the karaoke halls and midnight snack alleys survive. One karaoke hall has been open for years, yet its business is still brisk and the hall is always packed. It is perhaps its lowbrow, undemanding ambience that makes this venue so attractive.

Midnight snacks are a specialty of southern China, but Changsha's midnight snacks are more like dinner, when all kinds of dishes, delicious and unusual enough to satisfy the discerning people of Changsha, are served. The night market in Changsha is always heaving, and the streets crowded, as its restaurants stay open until two to three o'clock in the morning, endowing it with a particular vitality.

Tour Guide

Yuelu Hill after snowfall.

Yuelu Hill This famous scenic area is on the west bank of the Xiangjiang River. Mt Lushan is the main scenic spot, and through it flows the Xiangjiang River. There is lush grass, and also numerous plants and wild animal species, as well as scenery beautiful throughout the four seasons.

With a history of a thousand years, the Yuelu Academy of Classical Learning is possibly the world's earliest institute of higher education. It was built in the ninth year of the reign of Kaibao (A.D. 976) in the Northern Song Dynasty. Inside the academy are pavilions, terraces, memorial temples, and also inscribed boards and antithetical couplets by celebrities like Zhu Xi, the celebrated Confucianist philosopher, who once taught here. Steles exhibited in the stele corridor are from dynasties dating back to the Tang. The Eight Scenic Spots, built in 1982, epitomize Yuelu Academy's beautiful scenery.

Orange Isle (Juzizhou) In the Xiangjiang River, this tiny island attracts numerous visitors. Mao Zedong used to come here to read and relax, and, stimulated by its beautiful scenery, wrote memorable poetry. Nowadays, visitors are attracted to the island by its numerous restaurants serving Changsha specialties.

Heavenly Heart Pavilion (Tianxinge) This, the emblem of ancient Changsha city, lies in Tianxin Park. Built on the remains of an old wall, it consists of three pavilions and a corridor, and commands a panoramic view of the city. It is believed to have been built in the mid- to late Ming Dynasty.

Han Dynasty Tombs at Mawangdui Located in Mawangdui Township, Furong District, these three tombs belong to the family of the Prime Minister of the Changsha Kingdom, and date back to the early Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C. - A.D. 24). The coffins and burial objects in the 16-meter-deep Number One Tomb were unearthed on January 16, 1972, among which the most fascinating archaeological find was the well-preserved 2100-year-old female cadaver.

The Number One and Number Three tombs have yielded a rich hoard, including bells, tripods, jars, caskets, dressing cases, plates, cups, wooden figurines and screens. The 1.6-meter-long robe of plain silk gauze unearthed in Number One Tomb, weighing 49 grams, is truly a priceless treasure. Burial objects unearthed in Number Three Tomb include the world's earliest astronomical books written on silk, the earliest medical literature in China, and silk paintings. With so many art treasures, it enjoys a reputation equal to that of the terracotta warriors in Emperor Qinshihuang's tomb.

The Han Dynasty female cadaver and its burial objects are on exhibit at the Hunan Provincial Museum, 3 Dongfeng Road, Changsha.