Hunan Golf Courses: Book Tee Times & Explore Central China's Hidden Golf in 2026/2027

Hunan is the province that gave China Zhangjiajie, the sandstone pillar landscape that inspired the floating mountains in the film Avatar and has since become one of the most visited national parks in the country. Playing golf here means something that Bangkok, Shanghai, or Hainan cannot offer: a round in the same province as one of the most visually distinctive natural landscapes in Asia, followed by a cable car above the forest canopy and a glass-bottomed skywalk on the cliff edge. Three courses serve the province, and the one that earns the most specific attention is Zhangjiajie Tianmen Golf Club, listed as one of the Top 100 Golf Courses in China, measuring 7,166 yards in Yongding District near the park.

The framing for Hunan golf is the same as for Hubei or Guangxi: the province is the reason you travel, and golf adds one or two structured mornings to a program built around the landscape and culture. Changsha, the provincial capital, has its own draws with Mao Zedong’s birthplace at Shaoshan nearby, the Yuelu Academy, and the Orange Isle parkland in the Xiang River. Fenghuang Ancient Town in western Hunan is among the most photographed traditional river towns in China. Hunan cuisine, built around dried chili, fermented black beans, and smoke-cured meats, is one of the most recognized regional food traditions in the country.

Hunan suits cultural travelers who want an unusual golf experience alongside Zhangjiajie’s pillar landscape, golfers building a central China circuit connecting Changsha to Wuhan or Chongqing, and anyone who wants to play a course recognized in China’s top 100 while on a non-golf primary itinerary.

Best golf courses in Hunan

Three courses are listed. Two form the visiting program.

1. Zhangjiajie Tianmen Golf Club

Zhangjiajie Tianmen Golf Club is an 18-hole, par 72 layout measuring 7,166 yards, located in Wuzipo, Yongding District, Zhangjiajie, recognized as one of the Top 100 Golf Courses in China according to the club’s own listing. The Zhangjiajie location places it adjacent to the national forest park, and the course uses the natural sandstone terrain with elevation changes that flat provincial courses cannot replicate. At 7,166 yards it is the longest course in the province and the one that carries the most credentialed standing.

It suits any golfer visiting Zhangjiajie who wants to build a morning round into the itinerary alongside the forest park visit, and as the primary reason golf-focused travelers include Zhangjiajie in a China circuit.

2. Hunan Dragon Lake Golf Club

Hunan Dragon Lake Golf Club is a 27-hole, par 72+36 layout measuring 9,960 yards total with a slope of 131, located near Guanyinyan Reservoir in Wangcheng District, Changsha according to the club. The 27-hole volume and the reservoir setting give it the most complete golf facility in the province, and the Changsha location makes it practical for golfers based in the provincial capital. The slope of 131 suits a range of handicap levels.

3. Qingzhuhu International Golf Club

Qingzhuhu International Golf Club is an 18-hole, par 72 layout measuring 6,424 yards, located beside Qingzhu Lake in Kaifu District, Changsha, noted as Hunan’s first international-standard golf course according to the club. The lakeside setting and the modest yardage make it accessible across all handicap levels and practical for a lighter round in the city.

Which course is better?

Zhangjiajie Tianmen is the first choice by course credential and the most distinctive Hunan round by setting. Hunan Dragon Lake is the most complete Changsha facility for golfers based in the capital. Qingzhuhu suits a shorter, accessible city round. Most Hunan programs visiting Zhangjiajie include Tianmen Golf Club for one morning and cover Changsha courses as a separate city leg.

Best time to play golf in Hunan

Hunan has four seasons. The GolfLux FAQ identifies March through May and September through November as the best golf windows, consistent with the Hubei seasonal pattern.

March to May is the spring window with temperatures around 15 to 25 degrees Celsius. The Zhangjiajie forest is at its most vivid green after winter, and the mountain mist that gives the pillar landscape its atmospheric quality is present in the morning hours.

September to November is the autumn window. Temperatures cool to around 15 to 22 degrees Celsius in October, the deciduous cover on the Zhangjiajie peaks turns, and visibility is clearer than the humid summer months. October is generally considered the single best month to visit Zhangjiajie.

June to August is hot and humid. The Zhangjiajie pillar landscape is at its most lush, but daytime temperatures reach 35 degrees Celsius and outdoor activity is demanding. Morning tee times before 7am are the practical approach.

December to February is cold. Golf is generally not practical from December through February.

Hunan golf holidays and package tours

Hunan suits three to five day programs built around Zhangjiajie as the primary destination, with Changsha as the entry point and golf filling one or two mornings. Changsha Huanghua International Airport has direct connections from major Chinese cities. The Changsha to Zhangjiajie high-speed rail takes about two hours and thirty minutes, making the connection straightforward without a domestic flight.

The most natural Hunan golf structure is one Zhangjiajie round at Tianmen Golf Club on the morning before or after the forest park visit, one Changsha round at Hunan Dragon Lake, the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park cable car and glass bridge program, and a half-day at Fenghuang Ancient Town on the way between Zhangjiajie and Changsha if the schedule allows. The drive from Zhangjiajie to Fenghuang takes about two to three hours.

Zhangjiajie National Forest Park is the strongest non-golf draw in the province and one of the strongest in this entire guide series. China’s National Tourism Administration notes the park as one of the most visited in China, with the Tianmen Mountain cable car, the glass-bottomed Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Bridge, and the forest pillar hiking trails all accessible from the Wulingyuan core scenic area. Non-golfing partners can independently fill three days inside the park without running out of specific attractions. Browse China golf packages or create a custom Hunan itinerary that combines Zhangjiajie golf with the forest park and Fenghuang program.

Golf with Zhangjiajie and Fenghuang Ancient Town

Zhangjiajie National Forest Park contains approximately 3,000 sandstone pillar formations, the largest collection of quartz-sandstone pillar peaks in the world according to China’s National Tourism Administration. The formations were created by erosion of sandstone layers over hundreds of millions of years, and the tallest exceeds 400 meters. The Tianmen Mountain cable car, the longest passenger cable car in the world at approximately 7.5 kilometers, ascends to the Tianmen Cave, a natural arch in the cliff face at 1,518 meters. The glass-bottomed Coiling Dragon Cliff skywalk on the mountain’s cliff face, suspended above the forested valley, is one of the most photographed structures in Hunan’s tourism program. Playing Zhangjiajie Tianmen Golf Club and then taking the Tianmen Mountain cable car the same afternoon is a specific Zhangjiajie day structure that makes the most of the local geography.

Fenghuang Ancient Town in Xiangxi Prefecture, about 230 kilometers west of Changsha, is one of the most intact traditional Chinese river towns in the country. China’s cultural heritage authority notes the town’s Ming and Qing dynasty architecture along the Tuojiang River, the traditional stilted houses built over the water, and the concentration of Miao ethnic minority culture as making it one of the most significant heritage towns in south-central China. The novelist Shen Congwen, who wrote about Fenghuang in his autobiographical fiction, is one of the most celebrated figures in modern Chinese literature associated with Hunan. The town is accessible as a two-hour drive from Zhangjiajie or a three-hour drive from Changsha, and an overnight stay is the right approach rather than a rushed day trip.

Hunan cuisine has one of the strongest regional identities in China. It differs from Sichuan food in using dried and smoked chili rather than Sichuan peppercorn as the primary flavor base, producing a sharp, direct heat rather than the numbing sensation associated with Sichuan dishes. Mao’s braised pork, a red-braised pork belly dish associated with Mao Zedong’s hometown of Shaoshan in Hunan, is available at restaurants throughout Changsha and has symbolic as well as culinary significance in the province.

Book tee times in Hunan

Zhangjiajie Tianmen Golf Club should be booked five to seven days ahead for weekend slots and during peak Zhangjiajie tourism periods of October and the Chinese national holidays in May and October. Hunan Dragon Lake in Changsha fills on weekends and should similarly be booked a week ahead for peak autumn slots. Qingzhuhu is accessible with shorter notice. The GolfLux FAQ confirms advance booking is recommended for all Hunan courses, especially on weekends and holidays.

When organizing a Hunan golf visit, confirm Tianmen Golf Club as the priority booking for any Zhangjiajie dates, the high-speed rail from Changsha to Zhangjiajie, accommodation in Zhangjiajie town for the forest park program, and how the glass bridge and cable car visits connect with the golf morning schedule. Start planning here or browse China golf packages to incorporate Hunan into a wider central China program.