Current Time in Enshi, China

Enshi lies in the mountainous far west of Hubei Province in central China, deep in a landscape of limestone peaks, gorges and caves at the meeting point of Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan and Chongqing. It is the capital of the Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, and the city sits in a green basin on the Qing River, surrounded on all sides by forested karst mountains. The climate is humid and mild, with mists that hang in the valleys for much of the year and give the region its reputation as a natural air-conditioned retreat.

The city and its rural districts hold around eight hundred thousand people, and the prefecture some three and a half million. Tujia and Miao communities form the majority, and their languages, festivals and architecture are visible everywhere. The economy is built on tea, tobacco, medicinal herbs, timber, hydroelectric power and, increasingly, tourism. The soils here are unusually rich in selenium, and Enshi promotes itself as the world capital of this trace element, marketing selenium-enriched tea, rice and other foods across China.

The mountains long protected a distinct culture. For centuries the region was administered under the tusi system, in which the imperial court confirmed hereditary local chieftains as rulers of their own territories. The remains of one such seat, the Tangya chieftain city, form part of a group of tusi sites inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Direct imperial administration replaced the chieftains in the eighteenth century. Isolation kept Enshi poor and difficult to reach for generations, and it served briefly as the provincial capital of Hubei during the war against Japan when Wuhan fell. Expressways and railways completed in the past two decades have finally opened the prefecture to the rest of the country.

The Enshi Grand Canyon is the outstanding attraction, a vast karst gorge with sheer cliffs, cloud-wrapped stone pillars, glass walkways and a spectacular ridge trail known for the towering rock formation called the one-pillar peak. Tenglong Cave, one of the largest cave systems in the world, offers underground rivers, illuminated chambers and a light and dance show. The Shiziguan and Pingshan gorges are famous for boats that appear to float on air above water of astonishing clarity, and the ancient street of Enshi city preserves old wooden shops and a Tujia tusi manor complex with carved gates and drum towers.

Tujia culture is expressed in stilt houses with upturned eaves, in the hand-waving dance performed at New Year, in brocade weaving and in the tradition of singing at both weddings and funerals. Enshi Yulu tea, one of the few steamed green teas still made in China, is a prized local product, and the cuisine is spicy, sour and generous with cured pork and wild mountain vegetables.

A high-speed railway, expressways and an airport now connect Enshi with Wuhan, Chongqing and beyond. Hubei Minzu University is the main institution of higher learning, specialising in ethnic studies and medicine.

Enshi is admired for its dramatic karst scenery and its living minority cultures.