Orange Isle

A sandbar in the river and the sculpture at its head

Orange Isle lies in the middle of the Xiang River in urban Changsha, one of the river's downstream alluvial sandbars. Records date its formation to 305, the second year of the Yongxing era of the Jin, when eddies and deposits of sand and gravel built it up; today it stretches about 5 km from north to south, facing Yuelu Mountain to the west and the city to the east, surrounded by water. It once consisted of four isles — Juzhou, Zhizhou, Shizhou and Quanzhou — reduced to upper, middle and lower isles in the Qing; today it is a chain of long islands including Niutou, Shuilu and Fujia, and the name Juzhou comes from its orange groves.

The young Mao Zedong sculpture at the head of the isle is based on Mao's image in 1925: 32 metres high, 83 metres long and 41 metres wide, on a 3,500-square-metre base, assembled from more than 8,000 blocks of Yongding red granite from Fujian and weighing about 2,000 tonnes. The sculpture is huge, and up close you see only part of it; step back to the axis of the plaza at the head of the isle to take in the head, the shoulders and the sky behind them.

Walk the isle or take the shuttle

A north-south main road links the sights on the isle, and the distances between the head, the beach park and the tail are not short. Walking from head to tail is about 5 km one way, 10 km return; if you stay around the head plaza and the riverbank, one to two hours is enough, but for the tail it is better to use the shuttle. The isle is flat and the main road is good for walking, but the full distance is long, so carry water and sun protection in summer.

The shuttle stops along the isle, and passengers may get on and off once at each of five stops; fares and ticketing are as posted on site. Weekends and holidays are busiest at the head for photos, while morning and evening are calmer. Lawns, orange trees and river breezes are the isle's everyday texture, so do not focus only on the sculpture; a stretch of the riverside path shows the city on both banks. The isle has citrus trees, and in autumn the ripe fruit turns whole stretches orange; it is part of the park planting, so do not pick it.

The axis of the plaza at the head of Orange Isle, with clipped hedges and orange trees leading to the young Mao Zedong sculpture — Looking along the plaza axis towards the sculpture. The open square makes the difference in scale between statue and people increasingly obvious. EditQ · Photo credits ↗

Orange Isle riverside promenade, Xiang River and buildings on the opposite bank — The riverside promenade and the skyline across the Xiang River show another part of Orange Isle beyond the sculpture plaza. Follow current water-level and barrier notices beside the river. এম আবু সাঈদ · Photo credits ↗

Getting there, booking and river levels

Metro Line 2 has a station on the isle, Orange Isle station, right at the scenic area; the Orange Isle Bridge crosses the isle and its side ramps connect to the surface, so you can also walk up. Entry is free but requires a real-name booking, usually through the “Yuelu Mountain–Orange Isle Scenic Area” WeChat account; visitors without a Chinese ID fill in their document type. Without a booking you may not get in, and holiday quotas are tighter.

Because the isle sits in the river, the park closes temporarily when the Xiang rises in the flood season, and the metro station may also skip the stop. On 20 June 2024 the park closed from 2 p.m. that day as the river kept rising. Check the park's WeChat account and the weather the day before; if there is a closure notice, do not follow an old guide. After heavy summer rain the riverside paths can be slippery, so watch the barriers near the water.