Students have been cramming for exams at the base of Yuelu Mountain west of the river since AD 976, when the academy was established as one of China’s four institutions of higher learning. The Song-era grounds are now part of Hunan University. By the entrance is Hèxī Pavilion (Hèxī Tái), once on Yuelu’s summit, which assembles the writings of some of China’s great minds, including a poem of conversing sonnets collaboratively composed by the Confucian scholars Zhu Xi and Zhang Shi.
Yuelu Academy
Changsha
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
3.9 MILES
Changsha's main attraction is this modern museum. There's a special focus on the Mawangdui Tombs, which were excavated nearby in the early 1970s,…
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3.8 MILES
This large and active temple in the north of town dates originally to the Five Dynasties period, with many additions during later dynasties. The imposing…
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1.78 MILES
The most famous of the city’s parks is a 5km-long sliver of an island smack bang in the middle of the Xiang River. A reflective 32-year-old Mao…
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Old City Walls & Tianxin Pavilion
2.58 MILES
The old city walls, which once stretched for 9km around ancient Changsha, were built of rammed earth in 202 BC, reinforced with stone in AD 1372 (during…
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3.31 MILES
A colossal aluminium/magnesium alloy statue of Mao Zedong, cast in Heilongjiang, affably greets you at the entrance. This is the first clue that, despite…
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1.12 MILES
This large park on the slopes of Yuelu Mountain makes a pleasant city break. You can climb to the top in less than an hour, or else go up on the chair…
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Hunan County No 1 Teachers’ Training School
2.01 MILES
Between 1913 and 1918, Mao studied here and returned to teach classics from 1920 to 1922. It’s still a working college, and sometimes students keen to…
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3.62 MILES
Tree-shaded and dotted with lakes, leafy – and incredibly huge – Lieshi Park is very popular in the mornings for singing, dancing and taichi.
Nearby Changsha attractions
1.12 MILES
This large park on the slopes of Yuelu Mountain makes a pleasant city break. You can climb to the top in less than an hour, or else go up on the chair…
1.78 MILES
The most famous of the city’s parks is a 5km-long sliver of an island smack bang in the middle of the Xiang River. A reflective 32-year-old Mao…
3. Hunan County No 1 Teachers’ Training School
2.01 MILES
Between 1913 and 1918, Mao studied here and returned to teach classics from 1920 to 1922. It’s still a working college, and sometimes students keen to…
4. Old City Walls & Tianxin Pavilion
2.58 MILES
The old city walls, which once stretched for 9km around ancient Changsha, were built of rammed earth in 202 BC, reinforced with stone in AD 1372 (during…
3.31 MILES
A colossal aluminium/magnesium alloy statue of Mao Zedong, cast in Heilongjiang, affably greets you at the entrance. This is the first clue that, despite…
3.62 MILES
Tree-shaded and dotted with lakes, leafy – and incredibly huge – Lieshi Park is very popular in the mornings for singing, dancing and taichi.
3.8 MILES
This large and active temple in the north of town dates originally to the Five Dynasties period, with many additions during later dynasties. The imposing…
3.9 MILES
Changsha's main attraction is this modern museum. There's a special focus on the Mawangdui Tombs, which were excavated nearby in the early 1970s,…