Changsha can be called the heart of China in more ways than one. It is found right in the middle of the breast of any big chicken map of China. Its satellite town Shaoshan is home to Chairman Mao, and its hinterlands produce grain for much of the nation. Furthermore, it is a transport hub, pumping goods East to West along the Xiangjiang River, and from Guangzhou to Beijing via railroad. Neither a glittering Shanghai nor a quaint Yangshuo, Changsha is one of scores of major Chinese cities concerned with growing from second tier backwater to first-rate economic juggernaut, come hell or high inflation.

Business

So if China business is on your agenda, you could do much worse than choosing Changsha. Several Fortune 500 companies are already invested there, including Nokia, Time Warner, Pepsi Cola, Mitsui, and Mittal. While agriculture is still considered the primary industry, Changsha’s service sector accounts for roughly half of its GDP, with manufacturing and construction growing apace. The city is also committed to attaining hi-tech relevance. Currently, a quarter of its output is in the hi-tech sector, while its two tech and economic zones, Lugu Valley and Xingsha, have been attracting more and more FDI.

The breakneck spiral of operating costs besetting businesses in first tier metropoles is still a distant rumor in Changsha. Primo office space downtown can still be negotiated for ten U.S$ per month per square meter, and the 175,000 new employees turned out in the city each year, from quality institutions like Hunan University, dream of working for your international operation, a modest U.S.$ 5000 per year their standard remuneration (fail to factor in “social care benefits” at your business plan’s peril).

Here are some sites and numbers to further explore Changsha’s business possibilities:

Changsha Municipal Bureau of Commerce

www.cstrade.gov.cn [sorry –Mandarin site, but very informative]

Foreign Investment Administration Department: 86 731 8666056 / csinvest2006@yahoo.com.cn

Foreign Trade Department: 86 731 8665556 / cswm2006@hotmail.com

Living

Plagued by much of the environmental despoliation characterizing growing Chinese cities, Changsha is no country for old men, but at least avoids the extremes of icy Dongbei or stifling Shenzhen, with summer temperatures that seldom climb above 30 degrees Celsius, and winter nights that daren’t dip below 5 (last winter’s fluke snow flurries notwithstanding).

The cuisine possesses the spiciness and range of Sichuan, and the heartiness of northern provinces. When the foreign digestive system inevitably tires of or rebels against clay pot black chicken and pulled pork with peppers, the familiar stand of Fast Food Chains are close at hand, at least in the city’s center: Pizza Hut, KFC, and other familiar fare of negligible nutritional value. So too, are the hypermarkets stocking international viands for the homesick belly, such as Carrefour and Metro.

The visitor has an endless array of hotel rooms at both ends of the spectrum, short of champagne suites fit for hedge fund kings. Over 2000 five star rooms average out at U.S.$65, four stars number over 3000 at $40, and no-frill warriors have some seven thousand three-star rooms to choose from for a meager $20 per night. The nationwide phenomenon of international apartment buildings sprouting like mushrooms is well in effect in Changsha, making for a renter’s market. McMansions and “International Standard” Villas are as optimistically overpriced, relative to location, as in other Chinese cities, but comfort with compromise can be had for well under five thousand RMB per month.

Culture

Raging intellects have long been in great supply here. Besides Chairman Mao and his Chinese brand of Marxist-Leninist dialectics, Han Dynasty essayist Chu Yi, diplomat-general Sung Guo, and Politburo firebrand Zhu Rongji are all Changsha’s native sons. The venerable Yuelu Academy, which started turning out top scholars during the Song Dynasty, also has its home here.

So where to go for cultural edification? Yuelu Academy is now known as Hunan University, and Chairman Mao’s home in Shaoshan, a little over 100km from downtown Changsha, still draws hundreds daily, if not so many kowtows as it used to. Changsha’s Hunan Provincial Museum carries a massive collection of Western Han (207-24BCE) artifacts unearthed in ’72.

Entertainment

Then again, museum exhibits offer little solace to the foreigner feeling restless after the sun goes down. Obviously, the dazzling fleshpots of Shanghai and Beijing need fear little rivalry from Changsha’s more humble establishments. However, the zesty Hunan folk are known for loving the nightlife, and several districts not set up solely for clubbing bustle into the wee hours. The Hunanese are also credited with a knack for song and dance, which offers some hope to the foreign businessman in attendance for a KTV rendition of “Hotel California”. The following list of entertainment venues should be enough to divert all but the most jaded hipsters.

Clubs

Golden Time (Jin1 Se4 Nian2 Hua2)
Located in Jiefang Lu, this is the most up to date entertainment venue in Changsha. Glitzy décor, crazy atmosphere, and first rate performances. Popular among the “dance til you drop” crowd.

Address: No. 18, Jiefang Xilu

Hedong Disco

The most popular disco in the city. Infrequent performances and an overpriced bar. Over- thirties beware the beat-happy DJs.

Huatian Theatre (Hua2 Tian1 Da4 Ju4 Chang3)
A well appointed theater featuring formal performances and dance shows.
Address: 5^th &6^th floors of the Huatian International Club

Shennong Club
Address: 4th, floor, Shennong Hotel

Tongcheng Club
Address: 7th, floor, Tongcheng International Hotel

Bars– Jiefang Xilu Bar Street

The three-kilometer Jiefang Xilu is Changsha’s bar street, for foreigner and native alike. Definitely not as over-the-top as Beijing’s Sanlitun, Jiefang Xilu nonetheless boasts a style all its own, with none of the anomie that permeates the former . Romantic, quiet bars, dynamic show bars, teahouses, western style restaurants... definitely something for everyone.

COCO
Graceful and romantic atmosphere, easy listening music, popular with the white-collar 25 to 35's.
Address: No. 71, Jiefang Xilu

Jin Bi Hui Huang
A lot of government money gets spent here, thus the kitschy brand of luxury appointments and out-of-date entertainment.

Address: Basement of the Tianhan Theatre No. 190, Laodong Xilu

Margaret
Blues, R&B, a place where music and conversation coexist.

Address: Jiefang Xilu

Mingchayuan
Japanese style with Western accents, a place where businessmen tend to congregate.
Address: No.211, Laodong Xilu

Margaret Chinese& Western Restaurant
First Branch:No. 768, Furong Zhonglu
Second Branch: No. 118 Wuyi Lu
Third Branch: No. 458, Furong Zhonglu

Re Wu Disco
Disco, DJ, show performances
Address: 2nd floor, Dongfang Hotel, Wuyi Dadao

Night River Tour of Xiangjiang

A current night time favorite with the local people is a river cruise along the beautiful Xiangjiang. The crafts glide along the river , bathed in the bright lights of Changsha’s 'Bund'.