Things to do in Yiyang
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Yiyang
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best weather of the year, drier skies after the summer break, and autumn tea work under way in Anhua.
Peach blossom in Taojiang and first tea picking around Guyu, set against frequent spring rain.
Hot, humid and the wettest months. The bamboo is greenest and the caves are coolest, but city sightseeing is hard.
Peak birdwatching at South Dongting Lake as wintering flocks arrive, with cold damp weather beginning.
Coldest and dampest months, with Chinese New Year closures at small restaurants. January still has wintering birds.
What's on
- Dongting Lake International Bird Watching Festival late December
Birding festival around Dongting Lake since 2002, with Yiyang as a sub venue and spots set around the lake.
- Dragon Boat Festival fifth day of the fifth lunar month, usually June
Dongting is celebrated as the birthplace of dragon boat racing, marked at river level across the Dongting cities.
- Anhua spring tea picking around Guyu, mid to late April
Prized early grades are picked in April, when Anhua factories are busiest and tastings pour the newest teas.
Best things to do in Yiyang
Yiyang Ming Qing Old Street
Ming and Qing lanes by the Zi River wharf, lived in rather than restored, best walked in late afternoon light.
Yiyang Ancient City
The riverfront where Yiyang comes out at night for lights, promenades, snack stalls and lit bridges.
Yiyang Museum
A compact free museum that gives the Zi River, Chu culture and tea story a spine in about an hour.
Bailu Temple
A working temple on high ground reached by long stairs, with quiet calm and the best view over the city layout.
Qixia Temple
A temple of great age and local importance, visited by worshippers rather than tourists, paired with Longzhou Academy.
Longzhou Academy
One of old Hunan's four great academies, a humbler and far quieter counterpoint to Changsha's Yuelu Academy.
Zhou Libo Former Residence
A blue brick courtyard home of the novelist Zhou Libo, anchoring a gentle rural scenic area on the city's edge.
Yuyi Wood Country
A family friendly wood culture park with exhibitions, timber specimens and craft displays in landscaped grounds.
Where to stay in Yiyang
Heshan District centre
first trip, all round base
The working centre south of the river, walkable to the museum, malls, restaurants and bridges to the old town.
Zishan Lake and the new southern district
quiet, cars and golf
Planned and spacious, with the lake, Olympic Park, the golf club and the city's newest hotel, but sleepy at night.
Ziyang Old Town and the Zijiang riverfront
atmosphere
The historic north bank by the alleys and wharf, with simpler smaller stays and the river promenade at the door.
Anhua county town
tea country second base
Sleeping in Anhua puts the Tea Horse Road, Black Tea Museum and Yuntai Mountain an hour closer in the morning.
Think twice about
- Yiyang South Station and High-tech Zone
A building site of a district: wide empty roads, business hotels, and very little to eat or do at night without a car. Arrive there, do not base there.
- Yiyang Station perimeter
The scruffiest arrival in the city, busy with touts and taxis and a poor first impression. Use the station, then base in Heshan centre minutes away.
Best restaurants in Yiyang
Haotingxuan Chinese Restaurant
Anhua's banquet splurge, private rooms, river fish and mountain dishes with a tea service as considered as the food.
Haidilao Hot Pot
The national hot pot chain in the Yinxianghui mall, the one dinner in Yiyang that cannot fail a tired group.
Da Matou Restaurant
A busy local dining room at the old wharf below the alleys, serving Hunan river cooking led by fish and duck.
Jinlong Fishing Village
Yiyang's fish house format, live river fish cooked two or three ways for a group in a big informal room.
Pengji Pot Dumplings
Crisp based pot dumplings, a signature Yiyang late supper, cheap and expert.
Sanmei Leicha
A named house for Yiyang lei cha, the pounded tea soup served with puffed rice, beans, pickles and pastries.
Guo Laoguan Sanmao Leicha
The lei cha house named in the local three day itinerary, an equally valid place to pound your first bowl.
Yishixiang Malatang
An index listed malatang shop for Yiyang's signature spicy broth bowl, the cheapest full dinner.
Outdoor things to do in Yiyang
Fortune Lake International Golf Club
An 18 hole par 72 lakeside course by Zishan Lake, and the only true splurge outdoors day inside Yiyang city.
Taohuajiang Bamboo Sea
An ocean of moso bamboo over the Taojiang hills, the prefecture's best supported sight, with peach blossom in spring.
Chama Ancient Path Scenic Area
A walkable stone flagged stretch of the old tea horse road that carried Anhua dark tea toward Russia.
Black Tea Museum
The orientation for Anhua tea country, explaining dark tea, fermentation and the brick forms built for caravans.
Baishaxi Tea Plant
A historic dark tea plant with a small museum, working fermentation rooms and seated tastings through the brick families.
Yuntai Mountain Scenic Area
Forested Anhua mountain walking paired with a large show cave, a cool escape in the Hunan summer.
Longquan Cave
The large show cave at Yuntai Mountain, known for the waterfall inside it and its cool underground air.
South Dongting Lake
A Ramsar listed wetland on Dongting's south shore, world class for wintering birds from November to February only.
Best hotels in Yiyang
Four Points by Sheraton Yiyang
The city's one international brand hotel, opened in 2022 near Zishan Lake, and its most predictable stay.
Yiyang Country Garden Phoenix Hotel
The established local five star workhorse in Heshan, with banquet scale facilities at below Sheraton rates.
Vienna International Hotel
A reliable Chinese mid chain branch in Heshan, clean and well run, built for drive in and drive out touring.
Yiyang Huatian Hotel
The veteran top of town hotel with a family pool and banquet floors, with a real cigarette smoke caveat.
Ji Hotel
A central economy chain stay with a snack street downstairs, the best value base for the old town and temples.
Anhua Yujia Wyndham Grand Hotel
The tea county's top full service stay, so an Anhua night starts in the mountains instead of on the road.
Is Yiyang expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | CN¥200 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | CN¥420 a person |
| Splurge | CN¥900 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Fortune Lake International Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Baishaxi Tea Plant: a few days ahead
- Haotingxuan Chinese Restaurant: a few days ahead
- Book Fortune Lake golf days ahead through BaiGolf or your hotel, especially for weekends.
- Book Anhua top hotels and scenic tickets ahead in tea season and on holiday weekends.
- Book Friday evening and holiday eve trains early, and book hotels on Ctrip rather than walking in.
Is Yiyang safe?
- No district in Yiyang was found to be dangerous, but station areas are desolate at night rather than lively.
- Smoking is pervasive in older hotels and venues, so ask for non smoking floors if it matters.
- Anhua mountain roads wind and local driving is assertive, so leave the driving to a hired local driver.
- Summer heat and humidity are severe, so sightsee in the morning and carry water. Emergency numbers are 110 and 120.
Yiyang travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Basing in the station or development zone districts leaves you in empty streets with few dining options at night.
- Anhua scenic areas are packaged and managed, so do not expect untouched mountain trails at the turnstiles.
- Set a tea budget before any Anhua tasting, because the tasting ends in a shop and aged brick prices are opaque.
- Yiyang Olympic Park tops one English list on a single review and is a local park, not an attraction.
- South Dongting wetland is a winter bird site and a hot, quiet marsh in summer.
Getting around Yiyang: public transport and more
- Fast trains from Changsha to Yiyang South take about 32 to 40 minutes, while older trains to Yiyang Station take about an hour.
- Keep destinations written in Chinese characters on your phone, because English names and spoken pinyin will not reliably get you there.
- Hire a car and driver through your hotel for Taojiang, Anhua and Yuanjiang instead of improvising with buses and taxis.
- Buses 3 and 7 run to Damatou for the Ming and Qing alleys.
Who Yiyang suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | OK |
| Couples | OK |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Yiyang your trip
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