Scenic Spots and Historic Sites in the Yuelu Mountain area are one of the provincial tourist areas designated and announced by the Hunan Provincial Govemment in February 1981. Located at the westem bank of the Xiangjiang River flowing through the city Changsha, it covers an area of 36 square km, with the Mount Lushan tourist area as its core. The beautiful peaks of the Mount Lushan are surrounded by the Xiangjiang River, looking down over the Orange Isle, and opposite to the ancient city. The mountain, never, isle and city are wonderfully created and integrated as a whole, becoming a great spectacle of the province. The scenery changes according to different seasons, particularly in late autumn, which is the most beautiful season with red leaves covering mountains. The area boasts rich plant resources and exuberant greenish bamboo and ancient towering trees and preserves a vast stretch of protophyte green broadleaf secondary forest, hardly seen in other cities in China. There are many historical and cultural places in the mountain with more than 20 key spots under the special protection of the province and the city. Since the Wei and in dynasties, historical relies have been left over to the present in the mountain, including those religious relics of Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism and the relics of outstanding celebrities of the province.
A well-known tourist area in the province, the Yuelu Mountain Park is situated on the west bank of the Xiangjiang River. The mountain is an extended part of the mysterious Mount Hengshan range in South China. Along the range, there are many stone peaks, including the Huiyan peak as its head at Hengyang City and the Yuelu Mountain as its toof, hence the name. The Yuelu Mountain covers a total area of 8 square km. With the highest peak 297 meters above sea level. There are many peaks with exuberant trees and reclusive and precipitous mountain streams. When people enter the area, they will see antiquity and towering trees with heavy foliage shade, which suggest a feeling of the beauty of forest. There are lots of famous places and ancient relics since Western Han Dynasty which are dotted on Yuelu Mountains, such as Ai wan Pavilion, Yuelu Academy, Lushan Temple, Wangxiang Pavilion, Lushan Temple stele of Liyong in Tang Dynasty, and the Monument to the king named Yu carved in Song Dynasty, etc. Among the evergreen pines and cypresses also lie Huangxing' tomb which is under state protection, and the tombs of Cai'e and Chen Tianhua, who were both outstanding revolutionaries. The area is also an important cultural and educational center, boasting many universities and colleges and scientific research institutions including Hunan University, the Central and Southern Industrial College and the Hunan Normal University.