Changsha, China Tourism

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history. In the Spring and Autumn periods and the period of the Warring Kingdoms (771-221 BC) it was known as Qinyang because of the amount and quality of hand worked and artistic goods it produced (textiles, metallurgy, lacquer-work). It was given its present name in the Qin period (221-206 BC), when it was one of the most important towns in China. Under the Song dynasty (960-1279) Changsha became an educational center. The town walls, parts of which still stand, were built at the beginning of the Ming period (1368-1644). In 1664 the Qing rulers elevated it to the status of provincial capital of Hunan. In 1904, under pressure from western powers, the town was opened up to foreigners, and Europeans and Americans subsequently settled here. Mao Zedong (Tse-tung) lived in the town from 1911 to 1923; he studied and taught at the College of Education. In the Sino-Japanese war of 1937-45 a large part of Changsha was destroyed and reconstruction did not commence until after the founding of the People's Republic in 1949. Helped by its position on the Xiangjiang, the town developed as a commercial center; its harbor is now the largest on the river. Today it is also a financial and industrial center, with light industry predominating.