Hunan (湖南) · 15 places · 5 cities
15 places in Hunan, grouped by city. Under each one are two figures from the survey: how much daily life still goes on there, out of 100, and how far it has been turned over to visitors, out of 6.
Most common here: Old town (10), Walled city (3), Old quarter of a city (1). See all provinces, or the background on old towns.
6 places
Xiangxi (湘西州)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Biancheng (Chadong) (花垣边城镇（茶峒）)The border town between three provinces that Shen Congwen used for his novella. A hand-pulled ferry still crosses the river, and the market still runs.Lived-in 78/100 · Commercialised 1/6 · rarely visited from abroad · hard to reach | Old town | Lived-in, quiet |
| Liye (龙山里耶)A Tujia town beside the archaeological site that produced tens of thousands of Qin-dynasty bamboo slips. Ordinary streets and a working town alongside the excavation.Lived-in 75/100 · Commercialised 1/6 · rarely visited from abroad · hard to reach | Old town | Lived-in, quiet |
| Furong Town (永顺芙蓉镇)A Tujia town built beside a waterfall that runs through it. The rice-tofu stall made famous by a 1986 film is still there, and the falls are lit at night.Lived-in 68/100 · Commercialised 4/6 · little known abroad · some effort to reach | Old town | Visitor-facing |
| Dehang Miao Village (湘西德夯苗寨)A Miao village where some of the performance is staged but the daily life around it is not. Silverwork and embroidery are made here, not imported for sale.Lived-in 68/100 · Commercialised 4/6 · little known abroad · some effort to reach | Old town | Visitor-facing |
| Fenghuang Old City (凤凰古城)UNESCOThe stilt-house city on the Tuo river, stilt houses (diaojiaolou) hanging over the emerald Tuojiang River, green stone lanes, and Shen Congwen’s “Border Town” atmosphere, though only early morning shows the 2,000 remaining local families before the tour groups arrive.Lived-in 65/100 · Commercialised 5/6 · well known abroad · easy to reach | Walled city | Lived-in, busy |
| Shanjiang Miao Village (湘西山江苗寨)A Miao town with a market on the 3rd and 8th of the lunar calendar. Silver, embroidery and batik are made locally.Lived-in 65/100 · Commercialised 4/6 · rarely visited from abroad · some effort to reach | Old town | Visitor-facing |
4 places
Huaihua (怀化)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Qianyang Old City (黔阳古城)UNESCO2,200 years old, 900 years older than Fenghuang, completely free, and 80% of its houses are still occupied by locals, a walled city at three rivers’ confluence where Wang Changling wrote “a pure heart in a jade pot.”Lived-in 85/100 · Commercialised 1/6 · rarely visited from abroad · hard to reach | Walled city | Lived-in, quiet |
| Yutou Dong Village (通道芋头侗寨)UNESCOA 650-year-old Dong village that is a national heritage site, 4 drum towers, 4 wind-and-rain bridges, 78 stilt houses, and 182 Dong families who still speak the Dong language, pound indigo cloth and gather in drum towers, with almost no foreign visitors.Lived-in 82/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · rarely visited from abroad · hard to reach | Old town | Lived-in, quiet |
| Pingtang Dong Village (通道坪坦侗寨)Twenty-three Dong villages along one river, still farmed and lived in. Wind-and-rain bridges and drum towers are built here by hand, and the Dong choral singing is on the UNESCO list.Lived-in 82/100 · Commercialised 1/6 · rarely visited from abroad · hard to reach | Old town | Lived-in, quiet |
| Hongjiang Ancient Commercial City (洪江古商城)UNESCOChina’s Wall Street of the Ming and Qing, 380 merchant courtyard houses (yinziwu) in a maze of 7 alleys, 8 lanes and 9 streets, where 6,000 locals still live among old banks, pawnshops and escort agencies, with almost no tourist crowds.Lived-in 76/100 · Commercialised 3/6 · rarely visited from abroad · some effort to reach | Walled city | Lived-in, busy |
3 places
Changsha (长沙)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Changsha Old Town Streets (长沙老城街区（潮宗街·西园北里·白果园）)UNESCOReal Changsha beyond the tourist crowds, 300-year-old granite-paved streets (Chaozongjie), a 560m historic lane where 260 local families still cook chili-smelling pork and play chess (Xiyuan Beili), and a 100m ginkgo alley with Qing dynasty drainage channels (Baiguoyuan), all free and walkable.Lived-in 74/100 · Commercialised 3/6 · little known abroad · very easy to reach | Old quarter of a city | Lived-in, busy |
| Jinggang Ancient Town (望城靖港古镇)A 1,000-year-old Xiang River port town that was once the busiest commercial hub in Hunan, with preserved Ming-Qing streets, old pawnshops and temples, where locals still fish in the river and eat stinky tofu, 40 minutes from Changsha.Lived-in 72/100 · Commercialised 3/6 · rarely visited from abroad · some effort to reach | Old town | Lived-in, busy |
| Taiping Street (长沙太平街)The main street is heavily commercial, but the lanes behind it are still residential. Stinky tofu, sugar-oil cakes and crayfish are what Changsha eats here.Lived-in 60/100 · Commercialised 5/6 · known abroad · very easy to reach | Historic street | Visitor-facing |
1 place
Yongzhou (永州)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Shangantang Village (江永上甘棠)A 1,200-year-old village built in the Tang dynasty (827 AD), recorded as the oldest surviving ancient village in Hunan, with a Song-dynasty stone bridge, Ming-Qing houses, a 1,000-year-old family clan (Zhou family), and the unique Nüshu (women’s script) culture of Jiangyong.Lived-in 78/100 · Commercialised 1/6 · rarely visited from abroad · hard to reach | Old town | Lived-in, quiet |
1 place
Yueyang (岳阳)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Zhangguying Village (岳阳张谷英村)A 600-year-old clan village where 6 generations of the Zhang family still live together in a single sprawling complex of 1,732 rooms connected by covered corridors, “the folk Forbidden City of Hunan,” with a unique drainage system that never floods.Lived-in 80/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · rarely visited from abroad · hard to reach | Old town | Lived-in, quiet |
Which of These Is Still a Town
The two scores narrow the list, and the last step is local: which lanes are worth the walk, which day of the week the place is itself, and where to stay inside the walls. Tell our local team the provinces you will be in and they will say which of these hold up.