Hengyang, a city in Hunan province, is renowned as a top ecological paradise, cultural center and tourist destination.

Famed for its picturesque natural scenery and cultural legacies, Hengshan Mountain in Hengyang is recognized as a national scenic area, a nature reserve and a nominated site for both world cultural and natural heritage.

Hengshan Mountain has 72 peaks, which form a magnificent and awe-inspiring landscape including abundant vegetation, flowing springs and beautiful waterfalls.

Hengshan Mountain is a pilgrimage site in southern China. Its sacred and grand pilgrimage ceremony has been called the "living fossil of ancient Eastern civilization" by experts from the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization.

The pilgrimage to Hengshan Mountain is a time-honored and grand folk worship activity in southern China.

Every year around the first day of the eighth month in the lunar calendar, pilgrim teams from various places carry flags and umbrellas, following the lead of senior members who chant the traditional pilgrimage song.

With a history of more than 2,000 years, Hengyang also has rich cultural heritage.

Wang Chuanshan (1619-1692), the great philosopher of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), was born in Hengyang. Better known as Wang Fuzhi, his reinterpretation of Confucian ideas influenced many great Chinese thinkers.

He experienced the political changes during the transition from the Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

Zeng Guofan (1811-1872), a Hunan native and a prominent statesman in the late Qing Dynasty, once praised Hengyang's academies as the most prosperous in the world.

The most famous of them is the Shigu Academy on Shigu Mountain, where Zengshui, Xiangshui and Leishui rivers converge. It was one of the four major academies in the Song Dynasty (960-1279).