Editing Hunan (section)

== Geography ==
{{main|Geography of Hunan}}
Hunan is on the south bank of the [[Yangtze River]], about halfway along its length, situated between 108° 47'–114° 16' east [[longitude]] and 24° 37'–30° 08' north [[latitude]]. Hunan covers an area of {{convert|211800|km2|abbr=off}}, making it the [[List of People's Republic of China administrative divisions by area|10th largest]] provincial-level division. The east, south, and west sides of the province are surrounded by mountains and hills, such as the [[Wuling Mountains]] to the northwest, the [[Xuefeng Mountains]] to the west, the [[Nanling Mountains]] to the south, and the [[Luoxiao Mountains]] to the east. Mountains and hills occupy more than 80% of the province, and plains less than 20%. At 2,115.2 meters above sea level, Hunan's highest point is Lingfeng ({{lang|zh-hans-cn|酃峰}}).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sohu.com/a/162119207_698908 |title=湖南6座最高山峰,桂东竟然占了两座，知道的人绝对不超过1%,周末赶紧约起来！ |website=[[Sohu]] |access-date=2018-04-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180408141501/http://www.sohu.com/a/162119207_698908 |archive-date=2018-04-08 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hn.xinhuanet.com/2013-09/26/c_117523544.htm |script-title=zh:湖南"新高度"——酃峰 |work=[[Xinhua]] Hunan |date=2013-09-26 |access-date=2015-07-29}}{{dead link|date=July 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.xxcb.cn/hxdl/texie/2016-01-30/9045785.html |script-title=zh:最美的山峰：酃峰海拔2115.2米湖南第一高峰 |script-work=zh:潇湘晨报 |last1=Wang |first1=Shuo (王砚) |editor-last1=Pei |editor-first1=Li (裴力) |date=2016-01-30 |access-date=2018-04-08 |archive-date=2018-04-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180408141247/http://www.xxcb.cn/hxdl/texie/2016-01-30/9045785.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The [[Xiang River|Xiang]], the [[Zi River|Zi]], the [[Yuan River|Yuan]], and the [[Lishui River|Lishui]] Rivers converge on the Yangtze River at [[Lake Dongting]] in the north of Hunan. The center and northern parts are somewhat low and a U-shaped basin, open in the north and with Lake Dongting as its center. Most of Hunan lies in the basins of four major tributaries of the Yangtze River.

[[Dongting Lake|Lake Dongting]] is the largest lake in the province and the second largest freshwater lake of China.

The [[Xiaoxiang]] area and Lake Dongting figure prominently in Chinese poetry and paintings, particularly during the Song dynasty when they were associated with officials who had been unjustly dismissed.<ref>{{cite book|author=Alfreda Murck|title=Poetry and Painting in Song China: The Subtle Art of Dissent|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1eGqk66tvsQC&pg=PP1|year=2000|publisher=Harvard Univ Asia Center|isbn=978-0-674-00782-6|access-date=2016-10-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170110082823/https://books.google.com/books?id=1eGqk66tvsQC&pg=PP1|archive-date=2017-01-10|url-status=live}}</ref>

Changsha (which means "long sands") was an active ceramics district during the [[Tang dynasty]], its tea bowls, ewers and other products mass-produced and shipped to China's coastal cities for export abroad. An Arab dhow dated to the 830s and today known as the [[Belitung Shipwreck]] was discovered off the small island of Belitung, Indonesia with more than 60,000 pieces in its cargo.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}} The salvaged cargo is today housed in Singapore.

Hunan's climate is [[subtropical]]; under the [[Köppen climate classification]], it is classified as [[humid subtropical]] (Köppen ''Cfa''), with short, cool, damp winters, very hot and humid summers, and plenty of rain. January temperatures average {{convert|3|to|8|°C|°F}}, while July temperatures average around {{convert|27|to|30|°C|°F}}. Average annual precipitation is {{convert|1200|to|1700|mm}}. The [[Furongian]] Epoch in the [[Cambrian]] Period of geological time is named for Hunan; Furong ({{lang|zh|{{linktext|芙蓉}}}}) means "[[lotus (genus)|lotus]]" in Mandarin and refers to Hunan, which is known as the "lotus state".<ref>{{cite journal|last=Peng|first=Shanchi|author2=Babcock, Loren|author3=Robison, Richard|author4=Lin, Huanling|author5=Rees, Margaret|author6=Saltzman, Matthew|title=Global Standard Stratotype-section and Point (GSSP) of the Furongian Series and Paibian Stage (Cambrian)|journal=Lethaia|date=30 November 2004|volume=37|issue=4|pages=365–379|doi=10.1080/00241160410002081|bibcode=2004Letha..37..365P|url=http://www.stratigraphy.org/GSSP/file43.pdf|access-date=14 September 2012|archive-date=21 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121125654/https://stratigraphy.org/GSSP/file43.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>