Introduction
Hunan Province, 269km (167 miles) NW of Changsha, 480km (298 miles) SW of Wuhan
"O soul, go not to the south! In the south are a hundred leagues of flaming fire and coiling cobras; the mountains rise sheer and steep; tigers and leopards slink; the cow-fish is there, and the spit-sand, and the rearing python. O soul, go not to the south! There are monsters there that will harm you." -- from the 3rd-century poem "Great Summons," Songs of Chu
Wu Ling Yuan's landscape might well have inspired the shamanistic poems of the classic collection Songs of Chu. Unlike most famous sights in China, the area remained remote and little visited until relatively late. To the ancients, that part of northwestern Hunan (at the southern periphery of the Chu Kingdom) was an inhospitable wilderness -- mountainous terrain populated by wild animals. And unlike the sacred Buddhist and Daoist mountains, it did not draw pilgrims.
But that's all changed. Wu Ling Yuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area...
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Xiangdian Shanzhuang (Xiangdian International Hotel)
Visiting dignitaries usually stay at the Pipa Xi Hotel, but that should change now that this hotel has upgraded to four stars. Rooms are simple...
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Pipa Xi Binguan
This hotel and the Xiangdian Mountain Villa are the best in Wu Ling Yuan. The majority of guests are with tour groups, and on holidays it's full....
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