Hunan , or Hu-nan, Province, south-central China. Area: 81,300 sq mi (210,500 sq km). Population: (2020) 66,444,864. Capital: Changsha. It lies south of the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) and is bordered by Guizhou, Hubei, Jiangxi, and Guangdong provinces, Chongqing municipality, and Guangxi autonomous region. Part of the 3rd-century-bce kingdom of Chu, it passed to the Qin dynasty and became part of the Chinese empire during the Han dynasty (206 bce–220 ce). Hubei and Hunan were one province until split in the mid-17th century. Hunan was invaded in the mid-1850s by Taiping rebels, and in 1927 Mao Zedong led an armed uprising there. It was also the scene of bitter fighting during the Sino-Japanese War (1937–45). Much of the terrain is mountainous; Mount Heng, one of China’s sacred mountains, is located there. The economy is basically agricultural. Hunan is one of China’s major rice-producing regions.
