Changde

The Changde Poetry Wall — a flood wall along the Yuan River lined with ancient Chinese poems and listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest wall with engraved arts in the world — runs for three kilometres through the centre of this large city in northwest Hunan. Historically a strategic gateway between Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan, Changde was also the site of a significant battle during the Second Sino-Japanese War and sits at the foot of Wuling Mountain beside Dongting Lake.

• Population1,457,419
• Nearest water from center1.1 km
• Nearest mountain from center15.8 km