Huaminglou, Liu Shaoqi's former residence

　　Huaminglou is in a beautiful small town of South Changjiang. It is located o?n the bank of Jinjiang River, northeast border of Wangcheng County, in the southeast of Ningxiang County boundary, Hunan Province. Its neighboring is Xiangtan and Xiangxiang city in southwest and is 30 kilometers east from provincial capital Changsha. The distance from Mao Zedong's hometown, Shaoshan, is 37 kilometers o?n the south and is 30 kilometers west from the county.

　　Huaminglou scenic area occupies more than 670,000 square meters with the total floor space of 35,000 square meters. The main scenic spots are Liu Shaoqi's Former Residence, Memorial Hall, Bronze Statue Square, Exhibition Hall, Huaming Tower, Accomplishment Pavilion, Airplane Liu Shaoqi Had Taken, Ancestral Graves of Liu Shaoqi, Wang Guangmei's Tomb, Landscape Diagram of the Universe, etc. It has gained the honor of "the first batch national patriotic education bases," " the first batch national AAAA level traveling scenic spots," "one of Ten Chinese classics red scenic spots," so it is a revolutionary commemorating and traveling spot with national influence.

Memorial Museum

　　500 meters from Liu Shaoqi's former residence, there is a Memorial Museum in honor of him, in the museum there are more than 800 cultural relics and materials, including some of Liu Shaoqi's books and daily things.

Liu Shaoqi's Bronze Statue Square

　　Liu Shaoqi's Bronze Statue Square covers more than 8,000 square meters. The bronze statue was donated by the Chinese National General Labor Union, and sculptured carefully by famous sculptor Liu Kaiqu and Cheng Yunxian. The statue is 7.1 meters high (including the base) which implies two meanings. July 1st is the birthday of Communist Party of China, symbolizing Liu Shaoqi's outstanding contribution to Communist Party.

　　Meanwhile, Liu Shaoqi died at the age of 71, implicating his glorious and great life. The bronze statue was completed on November 24th, 1988. President Yang Shangkun unveiled it personally. In 1998, General Secretary of CPC and President Jiang Zeming inscribed for the bronze statue.

Huaming Park

　　Huaming Park occupies more than 130000 square meters. It's a park carries Chinese traditional virtues as the culture theme with the sites of Huaming Tower, Accomplishment Pavilion, Airplane Liu Shaoqi Had taken, Wande Tripod Cauldron, A-leaf Lake, etc. It opened in 2003.

Huaming Tower

　　Huaming Tower is a five storey tower with the height of one hundred feet. It is ancient dignified, grand and magnificent with jujube color corridors, carved pillars and drawings. The tower is decorated by the background of plum, orchid, bamboo, chrysanthemum and lotus, which implies the lofty thought of Liu Shaoqi for persisting in the truth and never changing his aspiration.

Travel Tips:

When to go

　　Changsha falls within the subtropical monsoon climate with distinct seasons and changing temperature. The annual temperature is 17.2℃. The weather of spring in Changsha is changeable; you need to wear thick clothes. The autumn begins from the middle of August. The weather is fine and the sky is clear. To sum up, September and October in autumn is the best time for traveling.

Traffic

　　There are coaches from Changsha to Ningxiang, and there are buses to huaminglou from Changsha, Ningxiang, Shaoshan. You can go there by bus.

　　It is about 50 kilometers apart from Changsha and the bus fare is around 20RMB. The Huaminglou town is the hometown of Liu Shaoqi, one of the main and respected leaders in China. All of the Huaminglou scenic area takes up 470,000 square meters and the admission fee is 30RMB.

　　the Former Residence of Chairman Mao is on the outskirts of Shaoshan (approximately 104 km outside of Changsha) and is easily reached by bus.You can first vist Liu Shaoqi's former residence and then take the bus from there to the Former Residence of Chairman Mao. It will take you 20 yuan and 30 mininutes.