Chinese Name: 益阳市 (yì yáng shì)

Population: 4,510,000  

Area: 12,325 square kilometers (4,759 square miles) 

Nationalities: Han 

Administrative Division: 2 districts (Heshan, Ziyang); 3 counties (Nanxian, Taojiang, Anhua); 1 county-level city (Yuanjiang)  

Seat of the City Government: 1, Zishan Lu, Heshan District, Yiyang City

Useful Telephone Numbers: Tourist Complaints: 0737-4243248
                                        Weather Forecast: 121
                                         Zip Code Inquiry: 184

Bank of China Yiyang Branch: 16, Changyi Lu, Heshan District, Yiyang City  

China Post Yiyang Branch: 1, Qingfeng Xiang, Qingche Lu, Ziyang District, Yiyang City 

Location: Located in the north of Hunan Province, Yiyang is bordered by Hubei Province in the north. Within Hunan, it neighbors the choppy Dongting Lake in the northeast, in the neighborhood of Yueyang, Changde and Huaihua. Changsha, the capital city of Hunan, is 70 kilometers (43 miles) east of Yiyang.       

History: As early as 5,000 years ago, there were villages scattered around this area. During the Warring States Period (476BC-221BC), it belonged to the territory of the Chu Kingdom. The Qin Court (221BC-206BC) put it under the administration of Changsha Shire. Later in the early Western Han Dynasty (206BC-24AD), Yiyang County, the first county in this area was established.    
 
Physical Features: Medium mountainous and plain areas comprise over seventy percent of the city's territory. The terrain of the city generally slopes downward from the southern hilly and mountainous region to the northern alluvial plain formed by Dongting Lake.                

Climate: The city enjoys a subtropical humid monsoon climate and the annual average temperature is a bit higher than many other regions around it. Comparatively, it has cooler summers and warmer winters. The rainfall is obviously abundant during July. Overcast and rainy weather together with cold air may occur in spring. 
When to Go: March to September

Special Local Products: Bamboo wares, paper umbrellas, preserved eggs, hawthorn, bamboo shoot, Fu Zhuan Cha (a kind of tea brick or compressed tea)  

 Attractions:
Taohua (Peach Blossom) River is a brook in Taojiang County well known to the whole country for a song about the river composed in the 1930s. The River zigzags for 58 kilometers (36 miles) and is dotted with many fine landscapes. On Hongshan Mountain 5 kilometers (3 miles) from Taoyuan county seat, there is a bamboo sea.  This impression is given by the waves of rolling green. Shy Lady Mountain lying 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the county seat is made up of seven peaks in the shape of a beautiful woman laying on the river bank. Southward 35 kilometers (22 miles) from Taoyuan, Taohua Lake can be found. During late March and early April, the peach blossoms are set off perfectly by the choppy lake water in the breeze. Luoxi Waterfall is in Shijingtou Township of Taojiang County. It is definitely an imposing sight to see the water rushing furiously down, and stirring up whirlpools when it reaches the bottom.  

Other Scenic Spots: Bailu Temple, Yuanjiang River

Travel Tips:
1. A fifty-minute expressway ride connects Yiyang City Changsha Huanghua International Airport.
2. Yiyang Railway Station is on Jinshan Nan Lu in Ziyang District. It is the largest transfer railway station in northern Hunan Province.
3. Yiyang Heshan Bus Station is the largest road transport station of Yiyang and is located on Chaoyang Dong Lu. From the station, buses to Changsha leave every thirty minutes and arrive in one hour.