In the southeast of Hunan Province lies Zixing City with a population of 360,000 and an area of 2747 square kilometers. It was set up as a county seat in the first year (136 AD) under the reign of Emperor Yong He in the Eastern Han Dynasty and became a municipality substitute for the original county. Known as a waterside town, electric town, home of coal, forest sea with the forestry coverage of 72% and a tourism paradise, Zixing City has assigned as a National Sustainable Development Experimental Zone.

 

Endowed with fascinating natural scenery, Zixing features a landscape with "National Four First-rate Tourism Scenic Spot" of Dongjiang Lake, Swan Mountain National Forest Park, Chengjiang Scenic Belt with the karst feature in topography as well as the No.1 White Water Rafting for eco-tourism in China---Dongjiang White Water Rafting, Shenlong Pool, and Tangshi Spa. This wonderful land has recorded lots of legendary stories about revolutionists like Mao Zedong, Zhu De, Chen Yi, and has fostered the oldest monk Zhou Qiangzhen and society elite such as Ceng Zhongsheng, Ceng Xishing and Bai Wei. The legends of Shenlong and Li Guang have been passed down from one generation to another.

 

Zixing City, only 30 km away from Chenzhou City, enjoys convenient transportation. The Zixing-Chenzhou Superior Highway joins the Jiangguang Railway Line here; the National 107 Highway, the Beijing-Zhuhai Expressway and Provincial Highway S322 cut through Zixing City. In the meanwhile, improving infrastructure provide tourists with excellent services. 

 

The climate in Zixing city is subtropical monsoon with hot wet summers and cold dry winters. The four seasons are distinctly recognizable: in spring, it is warm with less sunshine and a changing temperature; it is hot with rainy days in early summer and with dry days in late summer; it is wet hot in early autumn and cold in the later times; in winter, there are frost and snow but the cold does not last long. There is long-time frostless period with plenty heat, rainfalls are uneven during the four seasons and gale wind and storms occur from time to time. Annual temperature averages 17.1℃ and the annual average precipitation is  1538.3mm. Annual average sunshine is 1423.4 hours and the frostless period lasts 290 days.