Why Hunan

Hunan Province lies in south-central China between 24°38'-30°08' N and 108°47'-114°15' E. Hunan is named after its location at the south of Dongting Lake (Hu means lake and Nan means south literally). It covers an area of 211,800 square kilometers (81,776 square miles), 2.2% of the total of the whole country. It is adjacent to Jiangxi Province in the east, Chongqing Municipality and Guizhou Province in the west, Guangdong Province and Guangxi Autonomous Region in the south, and Hubei Province in the north.

Geography

Photo source: hunan.gov.cn
 
Surrounded by mountains and hills in the east, west and south, Hunan comprises of hills and basins in the center and plains in the north. The center and northern parts are a somewhat low and a U-shaped basin, open in the north and with Dongting Lake as its center.
 
Huping Mountain in Shimen County, Changde, Hunan's highest mountain, reaches an elevation of 2,009 meters, while its lowest area Huanggai Town in Yueyang is only 21 meters above sea level.　
 
Dongting Lake is the largest lake in the province and the second largest freshwater lake in China. Xiangjiang, Zijiang, Yuanjiang and Lishui Rivers are the four main tributaries of Yangtze River flowing through Hunan, and into Dongting Lake at Chenglingji, Yueyang.
 

Climate

Hunan is located in a region with a continental subtropical seasonal humid climate with four distinct seasons. It has abundant sun, long frostless periods and abundant rain. The annual sunshine duration is 1300 to 1800 hours. The annual average temperature is between16℃-18℃. The frostless period is as long as 260-310 days. Annual rainfall is 1200-1700 mm, which is favorable for agricultural crops and green plants.

History

Hunan's primeval forests were first occupied by the ancestors of the modern Miao, Tujia, Dong and Yao peoples. The province entered written Chinese history around 350 BC, when under the kings of the Zhou dynasty, the province became part of the State of Chu. After Qin conquered the Chu heartland in 278 BC, the region came under the control of Qin, and then the Han dynasty. At this time, and for hundreds of years thereafter, the province was a magnet for settlement of Han Chinese from the north, who displaced and assimilated the original indigenous inhabitants, cleared forests and began farming rice in the valleys and plains.[7] The agricultural colonization of the lowlands was carried out in part by the Han state, which managed river dikes to protect farmland from floods.[8] To this day many of the small villages in Hunan are named after the Han families who settled there. Migration from the north was especially prevalent during the Eastern Jin dynasty and the Northern and Southern dynasties periods, when nomadic invaders pushed these peoples south.

Population and Nationalities

By the end of 2017, the population of permanent residents in Hunan reached 68.602 million, including 37.47 million urban residents with an urbanization rate of 54.62%, a year-on-year growth of 1.87 percentage points. 
there are 2.6395 million Tujia people, 1.9215 million Miao people, 0.8421 million Dong people, 0.7046 million Yao people, 0.1256 million Bai people, 97.4 thousand Hui people, 23.6 thousand Zhuang people, 15.9 thousand Mongols, 8206 Manchus and 7939 Uygur people.

Economy

As of the mid 19th century, Hunan exported rhubarb, musk, honey, tobacco, hemp, and birds.[18] The Lake Dongting area is an important center of ramie production, and Hunan is also an important center of tea cultivation. Aside from agricultural products, in recent years Hunan has grown to become an important center for steel, machinery and electronics production, especially as China's manufacturing sector moves away from coastal provinces such as Guangdong and Zhejiang.[19]
The Lengshuijiang area is noted for its stibnite mines, and is one of the major centers of antimony extraction in China. Hunan is also well known for a few international makers of construction equipments such as concrete pumps, cranes, etc. These companies include Sany Group, Zoomlion and Sunward. Sany is one of the major players in the world. Liuyang is the major maker of fireworks in the world.