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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.