Hunan Day 9 (Final) Explore Changsha - Hunan Museum & Bye Bye

It was the final day in Hunan where we were given a free and easy morning, some of us headed to the Old Taiping Street again, armed with umbrellas for a last minute shopping.

In the day time we were able to see clearer Taiping Street though it was wet and drizzling as felt and enjoyed by these kids on the street.

I was fascinated by this food stall with its tempting delicacy, the way they displayed the skewered meat and sausages has enticed me into trying them.

Another unique shop selling traditional Chinese weighing balance with various sizes and made. The ancient Chinese scale uses measuring unit called "liang" that comes with a 16 markers or "liang".

This gorgeous painting found at one of the shops known as "Menshen" or door gods. These are divine guardians of doors and gates in the Chinese belief and these gods are there to protect against evil influences or to encourage the entrance of positive ones.

 Some of the old lanes are narrow but well maintained. It was still early with no crowd seen but it was still looking nice and colourful despite the emptiness. 

 While the streets were not busy there were workers busy preparing works such as laying cables.

It was a good re-visit in the day time having a good experience of the atmosphere in this my peaceful old place called Taiping Street.

Everyone was happily carrying their purchases walking in the drizzle back to Grand Mercure Hotel. Our next itinerary was Hunan Provincial Museum.

A lunch before we visit to the museum at Yu Lou East Restaurant. A popular food chain located at Wu Yi Avenue 125 (GPS : 28.194115, 113.003080).

Established in 1904 popularly known for their Hunan cuisine especially Xiang dishes and it is listed as one of the 10 best restaurants in Changsha.

Hunan Provincial Museum was first built in 1951. Over 180,000 items are found in the museum and most of these objects were discovered by archaeological excavation within Hunan.

The exhibits are classified into the following kinds: bronze, silk paintings and books, lacquers, textiles, ceramics, paintings and calligraphy.

The museum unfolds the cultural changes in Hunan throughout thousands of years with its superb collections.

Warring States bronze drum one of the many bronze items displayed in the museum.

Enough of walking in the museum, we were glad to find a place for some bites and nice coffee.

The last section we visited was the famous ancient mummy from Mawangdui tomb, In 1968 where an excavation work was carried for a hospital project and found a Chinese woman tomb together with her husband's tomb and a young man. She was Lady Dai辛追, her body was remarkably well preserved even though it is over 2,100 years ago. This amazing discovery has astonished many experts from all over the world.

The visit to Hunan Provincial Museum it was truly a good and educational itinerary for everyone of us.

One more last round of shopping mostly dried food stuff before we leave for the airport at a supermart near the museum.

Some interesting and entertaining parting words from Leo in the coach while we were heading to the airport. Leo will then drive back to his hometown for the celebration of Chinese New Year after sending us off. We wish him all the best in his business endeavour and til then we hope to meet up again.

So long Hunan it has been a remarkable tour covering Zhangjiajie the Avatar world, Baofeng Lake, Grand Canyon Glass bridge, Tianmen Mountain, Furong Town, Phoenix Town and Changsha. In deed it was a memorable trip that I will treasure till the day I die. 再见 !