Where is ZhuZhou?
Zhuzhou (株洲) is part of the "ChangZhuTan Golden Triangle" (the other two cities being Changsha (长沙) and XiangTan (湘潭)) in Hunan province. It is the province's second largest city and is home to about 4 million (if not more).
Key things to know
Zhuzhou has 4 districts: Tianyuan, Hetang, Lusong, Shifeng
4 counties:Zhuzhou, Youxian Chaling, Yanling
The Yan Emperor's (he is the man above with the horns) mausoleum is nearby in Yanling county. He and Shennong may or may not be the same person. Regardless, the Yan emperor is a very important figure in China for what he learned about various plants (after trying them out on himself) and in particular for discovering the benefits of tea leaves when he happened to consume a few and they purged his body of 70 different poisons. Or so the story goes. I've heard this story attributed to Shennong before and as I said before, some sources treat Shennong and Yandi as the same person while other sources do not which makes it difficult for me to speak too much on his/their accomplishments. He supposedly taught the people about farming which you can imagine radically changed the way people live in China. You will run into him at some point if you come out to this city.
The statue above is located in the West side of Zhuzhou in a spot referred to as "Shennong City", an area that encompasses the plaza around the statue as well as Shennong Tower from which you can get a good view of Zhuzhou, Shennong Altar, an art center, a playground, and a number of shops. The tower is also a tourist info center though when I got a map I went to a bookshop on Xinhua so I had no need to ask about maps or other things when I was there. The city museum is close by and can give some insight into the city's history as well.
4 counties:Zhuzhou, Youxian Chaling, Yanling
The Yan Emperor's (he is the man above with the horns) mausoleum is nearby in Yanling county. He and Shennong may or may not be the same person. Regardless, the Yan emperor is a very important figure in China for what he learned about various plants (after trying them out on himself) and in particular for discovering the benefits of tea leaves when he happened to consume a few and they purged his body of 70 different poisons. Or so the story goes. I've heard this story attributed to Shennong before and as I said before, some sources treat Shennong and Yandi as the same person while other sources do not which makes it difficult for me to speak too much on his/their accomplishments. He supposedly taught the people about farming which you can imagine radically changed the way people live in China. You will run into him at some point if you come out to this city.
The statue above is located in the West side of Zhuzhou in a spot referred to as "Shennong City", an area that encompasses the plaza around the statue as well as Shennong Tower from which you can get a good view of Zhuzhou, Shennong Altar, an art center, a playground, and a number of shops. The tower is also a tourist info center though when I got a map I went to a bookshop on Xinhua so I had no need to ask about maps or other things when I was there. The city museum is close by and can give some insight into the city's history as well.
