Xie Zilong Photography Museum

Foreign visitors should register at the enquiries desk before entering the exhibition halls.

The museum consists of two separate buildings: Buildings A & B. Building A hosts the main exhibition halls while Building B contains the children's wing.

Founded in 1903 and built on the former site of an old Song Dynasty academy. The institution's best-known student was Mao Zedong, who undertook his secondary studies here from 1913 to 1918 when it was known as the Hunan First Normal School. From 1921 to 1923, Mao was the principal of the school's affiliated primary school. Today, Hunan First Normal University has two campuses. The old campus in Tianxin District features a museum about Mao Zedong. The new campus is in Yuelu District.

The Thousand-Year-Old center of culture and learning of southern China. Established in 976, it is the spiritual predecessor to what is now Hunan University. Rich in history and beautiful period architecture, a visit to the academy will put you in touch with the ancient elites of southern China. You can find all the history on the website and then visit the academy yourself, wandering through its courtyards and open classrooms, admiring the curved eaves and bamboo gardens to get the real experience.

One of the oldest temples in Hunan Province, It was founded in 267 AD, but has been destroyed six times, the most recent time being during World War II when the temple was bombed by the Japanese airforce. The current buildings largely date from the 1980s. The only surviving structure from the previous rebuild is the Guanyin Pavilion, which lies at the tail end of the complex.