Húnán (湖南) province is in central China, south of the Yangtze river. The famous Chinese leader, Mao Zedong, was a native of Hunan. During the 1927, he setup the short-lived Hunan soviet in this region. Hunan remained a communist stronghold until 1934 then they were finally ejected by the Nationalist KMT soldiers causing the communists to undergo the infamous "Long March" to Shaanxi province. The village of Shaoshan, where Mao Zedong was born, is a popular tourist attraction with both Chinese and foreign visitors. Wuyingyuan UNESCO World Heritage Site is also located in Hunan province.
Yabuli Ski Resort is the largest ski centre in China. Situated in the far north east of the country, near to Harbin city, snow is pretty much guaranteed for long periods every winter. This large ski resort has played host to several international competitions including the 1996 Winter Asian Games, the 2008 National Winter Games, and the 2009 Winter Universiade. The northeast of China has very long cold winters. Benefiting from this, Yabuli has about 150 skiing days per year, typically between November and April.
