With spring in full bloom, every coming month seems to bring another tempting long weekend. Where to go for a quick weekend getaway suddenly becomes a serious question.

Counting on my fingers, the destination probably needs to check a few boxes: easy transportation; not too many sights, or you won’t have time to see them all; great food, preferably the kind with real local flavor and street-life energy; and ideally, a hotel that’s comfortable and worth the stay in itself.

My vote goes to Changsha.

For me, Changsha is a city filled with deep memories, both from work and from life in earlier years. After not seeing it for several years, it has already become one of Douyin’s most famous cities. This time, while traveling with my parents, I took the chance to refresh my memories of Changsha.

Grand Hyatt Changsha

As usual, I like to start exploring a city through a hotel. In recent years, Changsha has opened a series of pretty good new hotels. If you choose by the standard of “location, location, location,” then Grand Hyatt Changsha—with the Xiang River right in front of it and Wuyi Square at its doorstep—is probably the best pick.
Around New Year’s Eve, when it offers one of the best views for the fireworks, rooms at Grand Hyatt Changsha are especially hard to book.

If you had to define a city by color, Changsha would unquestionably be red.
The moment you walk into the hotel, you can feel that red everywhere. From the soaring lobby wall décor to the front desk, concierge, and restaurants, everywhere you look there’s a shade of red that feels rich and comfortable, never harsh.

The red at Grand Hyatt Changsha draws from the brushwork of two classic Chinese paintings: Changsha by Fu Baoshi and Ten Thousand Hills in a Crimson Blaze by Li Keran. The latter sold for RMB 180 million at China Guardian’s 2015 autumn auction, so this particular shade of red really is a little expensive.
The wall decoration also looks a bit like the rolling waves of the Xiang River.

Designed by hotel-design heavyweight LTW and the veteran architect Lin Fengnian, the hotel feels like a dialogue across time between architecture and the great masters of Chinese painting.

The lobby lounge and the second-floor seating area are equally striking—stylish and highly photogenic.

The public areas around the lobby are filled with interesting art pieces. Grand Hyatt properties in China seem especially fond of using animal sculptures as accents, and this one is no exception. You could practically call it the Grand Hyatt Changsha Zoo.

Guarding the entrance is a chubby elephant with sharp tusks. Its thick legs grouped together somehow make it look a little cute. Behind the window sits a sleek horse with beautiful lines—definitely worth a little flattery.

Then there’s the Instagram-famous staircase and the famous whale sculpture. Tip: once the lights come on, the staircase unexpectedly gives off an Inception-like vibe and becomes a great spot for photos.

Viewed from another angle, the whale sculpture is titled Dream Chaser: Ark. Its long, gently extended back carries mountains, rivers, and lakes, creating a calm, unhurried sense of peace.

Nearby is a little flock of adorably plump sheep that look as if they still haven’t figured out why they’re here. The deer, on the other hand, seems perfectly clear on its purpose and strikes an elegant pose.

On the way from the lobby to the guest elevators, there are also little human figures sitting on rings, petting dogs and walking birds. Even with all the artistic sensibilities in my body, I couldn’t immediately tell what they were supposed to mean.

In fact, this whole set of animal sculptures was created by the very young sculptor Wang Ruilin. His Dream Chaser series has already won many awards in China and abroad. I’ve seen his take on the real-and-fake Monkey King, and it was incredible. By giving traditional sculpture a more fashionable expression, maybe one day he’ll become a master like Yoshimasa Tsuchiya.

The hotel’s guestrooms are located on floors 47 through 61, facing IFC in the distance, and offer an excellent vantage point for both Changsha’s city skyline and views of the Xiang River.

The city-view suite has a square, practical living room, while the bedroom enjoys a 120-degree curved view. After all, this is a big-name design project, so none of the expected business-friendly functionality is missing, and there’s also plenty of design detail throughout.

Leaving aside the priciest river-view suite, if you don’t specifically need a suite, I’d more strongly recommend the Grand Deluxe River View room. Its 270-degree floor-to-ceiling view facing the Xiang River is even better for trips with your partner or close friends.

There was welcome fruit for members, along with crisp, delicious chocolate. Hyatt has been running some very good-value promotions lately, so it’s worth signing up for membership.

The most eye-catching feature in the living area might be the flamboyant carpet. But the longer you look at it, the more it grows on you, adding a lively touch to the room rather than making it feel stiff or old-fashioned.

The bedroom’s beige accent wall is dotted with touches of reddish brown, which feels calmer than bright red. Combined with the Chinese-style lamps and 350-thread-count-plus bedding, my parents slept very well.

The room faces Renmin West Road, and right next door is the famous Pozi Street Police Station. If you forget your ID, you might even get a chance to meet the internet-famous officers from Guarding Jiefang West.

The bathroom walls are entirely decorated with maple-red bricks fired at Tongguan Kiln, a Changsha intangible cultural heritage craft, giving the space a simple and elegant feel. Light through the blinds falls onto the bathtub by the window. The bath amenities are by L’Occitane, and they smell wonderful.

The view gets even better once the IFC lights up outside the window at night, though Changsha’s skyline still falls just a little short.

Another standout feature of the hotel is the Regency Club on the sixth floor. It takes up about half the level and is similarly accented with layered gradients of red.

It’s very spacious—one of the larger lounges I’ve seen—and can accommodate quite a few guests. Even during holiday periods, it probably wouldn’t feel overly crowded.

Unlike many hotel lounges that are usually placed on high floors, this one on the sixth floor feels much closer to real everyday life. Just across the street from the Regency Club are some of Changsha’s oldest, most local neighborhoods: Banxiang Street, Fanxi Lane, and Duzheng Street.

If you want, you can step right into what Changsha used to look like. Modernization may be unstoppable, but I still hope the south side of the city stays much the same, with new chapters added to old stories.

People say Hyatt does food well, and the offerings in the Changsha Grand Hyatt Regency Club did not disappoint. Breakfast, afternoon tea, and evening refreshments were all plentiful, polished, and well done. As a side note, breakfast at the first-floor cafe was also very satisfying. There’s also a Chinese restaurant, Xiangjiang 36, which I didn’t have time to try, though it has a good reputation.

The Regency Club staff also deserve praise. The service level was excellent and genuinely welcoming.

As the lights come on after dark, having a drink while looking out toward Du Fu Pavilion also feels like a pretty great way to unwind after a day of exploring Changsha.

Of course, another major advantage of the hotel is that Super Wenheyou is just 50 meters downstairs. During holidays, when the waitlist can easily run into the thousands, being able to relax in your room, watch Hunan TV, and then head downstairs beats standing around at the entrance by a mile.

Super Wenheyou and Chayan Yuese

In recent years, Changsha has become one of China’s hottest social-media-famous cities. In addition to the ever-reliable Hunan TV, Wenheyou and Chayan Yuese deserve a lot of the credit as well. I still remember the first time I ate at Wenheyou in Changsha: I was treating an exceptionally impressive upperclassman to crayfish.

When I came back later, I was surprised to find that it had gone from being a popular local eatery to becoming one of the city’s biggest cultural IPs.

The exterior is thoroughly modern, while the interior seems to be trying to recreate a Chinese streetscape from the 1970s or 1980s. But does assembling a bunch of nostalgic elements really recreate the city people remember? I’m not so sure.

The cramped space and crowded, weathered-looking buildings do have a bit of a cyberpunk feel. It’s kind of the sort of place where you walk in and immediately think, “Wait, did I just walk back out again?”

This looks exactly like the mosaic wall in my family’s home.

My parents felt nothing in particular about this kind of setting. As for me, I still have a few residual memories tied to it, so I’m of mixed feelings. For younger visitors, though, it probably feels novel. Still, I have to admit it’s impressive to turn a restaurant into a full-fledged tourist attraction.

The first time I had Chayan Yuese was on a business trip to Changsha, when I sneaked off to a mall with coworkers. At the time it wasn’t a particularly well-known brand, but after trying it, my two bubble-tea-obsessed colleagues immediately wanted to ask whether they could invest and open a franchise in Shanghai. Even then, I had a feeling it was something special. Haha—missed my chance to get rich.

Besides the combined pull of those two big IPs, there are also little stalls selling Changsha specialties tucked into different corners of the building. Personally, though, I really dislike this kind of all-in-one food hall setup that gathers local food from everywhere into one place, especially when it’s built inside a faux old-town district.

The Academy on Yuelu Mountain

“Only Chu produces talent; here it flourishes most.” To say something like that with confidence probably has a lot to do with this academy, whose history is even longer than Oxford’s. More than a thousand years ago, people were already here studying hard and striving upward.

Take Metro Line 4, pass through Orange Isle, and you can go straight to the foot of Yuelu Mountain. Even the station names before and after—Hunan University and Hunan Normal University—show that Yuelu Mountain’s role in education continues to this day.

Yuelu Mountain, one of the 72 peaks of Hengshan, is not especially high, but it’s a great weekend outing. The trees are tall and lush, the air is fresh, and with no special preparation at all, you can easily spend away an afternoon here with family or friends. It’s a scenic spot for visitors, but also Changsha residents’ own backyard.

Halfway up the mountain sits Aiwan Pavilion, whose colors change with the seasons. Its name comes from Du Mu’s famous poem “Mountain Travel,” specifically the line about stopping the carriage because one loves the maple forest at dusk. For so many people, that line brings back childhood blushes and knowing smiles.

Yuelu in a bubble.

Everyday Changsha and Modern Changsha

Checking off scenic spots is one way to get to know a city, but it can also feel a little too much like following a guidebook. The unexpected moments along the way are often the most delightful.
On a Sunday morning, after breakfast, hopping onto a slow bus by the Xiang River and getting off wherever looks appealing may be a more luxurious way to open up a city.

@长沙发布

On Tongtai Street, just-woken-up grandpas and grandmas chat about everyday life, while heavily accented Mandarin fills the alleys. There are no social-media-famous attractions here—just street vendors and bustling residents.

Chaozong Gate used to be the starting dock for Changsha’s river shipping; as the saying goes, “If you haven’t entered through Chaozong Gate, you haven’t truly entered Changsha.” After Chaozong Street was redeveloped into a commercial street, it lost a bit of its original flavor, though that little church is still a place of faith for many people.

Fanxi Lane and Wenping Temple are also great places for Changsha snacks. I’ve always thought the names of the two nearby middle schools—Changjun and Yali—are exceptionally well chosen.

Along the Xiang River, this is probably where older residents most fully let loose: on a few open patches, uncles and aunties dance Xinjiang-style group dances, while elderly men play cards and chess.

Then head to Pozi Street to experience both the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds and the difficulty of “Defending Jiefang West.”

When you’re tired from walking, go grab a bowl of rice noodles. Authentic Changsha rice noodles are thin and silky, and perhaps thanks to Hunan being a major rice-producing province, you can catch a faint aroma of rice in every bite.

Even more important than the noodles are the toppings: the beef brisket should be tender and falling apart, while chopped pickled chilies, pickled mustard greens, pickled long beans, and chili powder are all stars in their own right. The “108 Bowls of Changsha Rice Noodles” guide is a great helper when choosing where to eat.

After taking in Changsha’s lively street life and fireworks-filled local atmosphere, you can also head over to see the “Frog Looking Up” by the lake at Meixi Lake designed by Zaha Hadid (the Meixi Lake International Culture & Arts Center), the new Hunan Museum building designed by 2019 Pritzker Prize laureate Arata Isozaki, the Meixi Lake Pedestrian Bridge inspired by a Möbius strip and the Chinese knot, as well as the China Academy Museum, the Li Zijian Art Museum, and more.

Frog @ Zaha Hadid

@ Hunan Daily

@ Xinhua News

So, with all that said, while the crowds are still relatively light, this is a great time to check in on this city of crayfish, milk tea, and variety shows.

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  • Original author’s WeChat public account: Basically Harmless
  • Original author’s article series: Basically Harmless