Hengyang (衡阳) straddles the Xiang River roughly 160 kilometres south of Changsha, where the Zheng, Lei and Mi streams join the river on its way north toward Dongting Lake. The name records the city's position south of Hengshan, the Southern Sacred Mountain that rises from the plain a short way north of the centre. For centuries the city was known as Hengzhou, the seat of a prefecture whose governors rose and fell with the dynasties, and in 1678 Wu Sangui briefly set up an imperial court here before his revolt collapsed. Today Hengyang is Hunan's second-largest city and its leading rail and road crossroads, a centre of chemicals, machinery, paper and processed food. Much of the old town was lost in the Second Sino-Japanese War, when Hengyang held out longer than any other single city.
Hengshan rises from the Xiang River plain north of Hengyang, its granite flanks covered in temples and walked for centuries. The paths climb to Zhurong Peak, where a Ming shrine to the fire god crowns the summit, and pilgrims still come to burn incense.
Nanyue Temple is one of the largest temple complexes in southern China, built for the god of the Southern Mountain. The god is the fire god Zhurong, Daoist and Buddhist halls flank its long axis, and worshippers still come from far beyond Hunan.
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The Yan Emperor's mausoleum honours the legendary ruler credited with inventing agriculture and herbal medicine. Emperors sent officials to sacrifice at the precinct in Yanling County, and pilgrims still return there at Qingming and in the seventh lunar month.
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Shigu Academy was founded on a rock island where three rivers meet in Hengyang and became one of the great academies of the south. Zhu Xi and Zhang Shi lectured there, Japanese bombs levelled it in 1939, and it was rebuilt from 2006 on its Qing layout.
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Leiyang is the hometown of Cai Lun, the inventor of papermaking, and has made writing paper for centuries. The sheet rests on local kaolin and nan bamboo, the paper fed the demand for something to write on, and the town still styles itself the paper capital.
ReadHengshan, the Southern Sacred Mountain, is a granite massif of temples that rises from the plain north of Hengyang.
Nanyue Temple is the great palace-style temple at the foot of Hengshan, built for the god of the Southern Mountain.
The Yan Emperor Mausoleum honours the legendary emperor credited with inventing agriculture and herbal medicine.
Shigu Academy is a rebuilt academy on a rock in the Xiang River that was foremost among the four great academies of the Song.
Leiyang is the hometown of Cai Lun, the inventor of papermaking, and remains a centre of paper production.
