Taohuayuan Scenic Area, Hunan province

Taohuayuan Scenic Area, Hunan province
(桃花源旅游区 táo huā yuán lǚ yóu qū)

Location: Taohuayuan town, Taoyuan county, Changde city, Hunan province
Websites:
www.cnthy.com.cn(Cn)
www.cnthy.com.cn/awebs/indexs.html (En)
Scenic Spot Level: AAAAA
Opening Hours:
8:30-17:30
Ticket Price:
General admission:128 yuan($19.78)/person
Notes:
1. Children under the age of 14, senior citizens aged 65 and above, people who have a disability, travel agency managers, reporters, tour guides, and servicemen can enter free of charge.
2. Half-price concessions are available for students between 14 and 18 years old, people aged between 60 and 65, full-time university undergraduates and primary and secondary school students.

Located to the southwest of Changde city, Central China’s Hunan province, the Taohuayuan Scenic Area boasts a reputation as a "fishing village bathed in sunset glow" (Yucun xizhao), purportedly one of the Eight Views of Xiaoxiang in ancient Hunan.

Established during the Jin Dynasty (265-420), Taohuayuan thrived during both the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and the Song Dynasty (960-1279). It has accumulated a profound culture and is a material and spiritual "Utopia" in eastern Asia.

It is a prototype recorded in the often-eulogized Peach Blossom Land by Tao Yuanming (ca.365-427), a poet of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420). For thousands of years, the Taohuayuan Scenic Area has always merited lyric praise from many poets.

Today you can see 15 well-preserved ancient buildings dating from the Tang Dynasty (618-907) to the Republic of China (1912-49). In 2006, the ancient architectural complex was rated as the nation's foremost protected cultural heritage site.

The Taohuayuan Scenic Area aims to become a tourist destination where people can relieve social stress and relax body and mind. Themed on spreading traditional culture, it has held various activities to attract tourists at home and abroad. As a national forest park, it also has relied on its favorable ecological environment to hold sports events such as marathons, and has even hosted square dancing. It enjoys a good reputation in the field of national fitness.

Thanks to its popularity and good reputation, complete tourism infrastructure, and market influence, the Taohuayuan Scenic Area draws an increasing number of domestic and international tourists year by year, with more than one million visitors, including nearly 100,000 from overseas, arriving annually.