Hunan

American  

[hoo-nahn] / ˈhuˈnɑn /

noun

1. Pinyin, Wade-Giles. a province in S China. 81,274 sq. mi. (210,500 sq. km). Changsha.

2. Chinese Cooking. Also Hunam a style of cooking from this province, characterized especially by the use of hot peppers.

---

Hunan British  

/ ˈhuːˈnæn /

noun

1. a province of S China, between the Yangtze River and the Nan Ling Mountains: drained chiefly by the Xiang and Yüan Rivers; valuable mineral resources. Capital: Changsha. Pop: 66 630 000 (2003 est). Area: 210 500 sq km (82 095 sq miles)

---

Example Sentences

The study was led by an international team that included Professor Minxue Shen from the Xiangya School of Public Health at Central South University in Hunan, China.

From Science Daily • Mar. 30, 2026

The site where the fossils were found in the southern Chinese province of Hunan was "extraordinary," Han Zeng of the Chinese Academy of Sciences told AFP.

From Barron's • Jan. 28, 2026

It provides a steady supply of gas to China’s southern provinces including Yunnan, Guizhou, Hunan, Guangdong and Fujian.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 26, 2025

Born in Hunan province, China, Hu was an undergraduate at Tianjin University, and will be the first Asian American chancellor of UC Riverside.

From Los Angeles Times • May 28, 2025

Wuchang, on the Yangtsze opposite Hankow, is the capital of the two provinces Hupeh and Hunan.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 841, February 13, 1892 by Various